If Seren was to be entirely honest, she was nervous about her first official date with the astrophysicist. He was kind, he was sweet, but she had not been on a date in a long time. She had spent hours agonising over what to wear, which embarrassed her a little– she was a doctor, she valued practicality over fashion, but she was finding herself worrying about whether or not he'd find her pretty. It wasn't unreasonable for her to be smart and pretty, though. Seren ended up picking a mid-thigh length, navy dress, with long sleeves, and a flattering low neck. Simple, but pretty. Perfect for a date.

A touch of lipstick, a spray of perfume, and a box of cupcakes later, she was ready. Seren put the cakes she had made into her bag, before heading on out to her car. A planetarium show. It was going to be so interesting.

The drive was short, and Seren was still rather nervous as she settled down in the show's audience. She found astronomy to be interesting, and had spent some time growing up charting what stars she could see from her bedroom. It wasn't that that made her nervous, though- she knew she was going to dinner after the show, and she did enjoy her last meeting with Rajesh. Even if his overzealous friend had cornered her at the hospital. That had thrown the naturally shy Seren off guard, but she was still keen to talk to the astrophysicist again.

Seren settled in her seat, laying her jacket over her lap, and setting her bag down beside her. It was busy, with lots of people keen to see the planetarium show. She brushed loose ebony hair from her face, hands lacing in her lap as she awaited the show's beginning.

Rajesh, for his part, was equally nervous. These shows were ingrained perfectly into his head, and he had rehearsed every single word a dozen times. Even Cinnamon had grown bored of hearing them. But he had a date in the audience- that is, if she had even decided to come. He knew Penny had tried to talk to her, and from what he could tell of Seren, she was shy. Not like Lucy, but even somebody of a mildly shy nature could be alarmed by their date's friend talking to them at work. There was also the possibility that Seren had agreed to this date merely to be nice.

Despite the many, many doubts, however, he had dressed nicely, and put on his best suit for the planetarium show. Paired with a navy tie, and perhaps a touch too much cologne, he tried not to make his scanning of the room too obvious as he entered. The lights were dim, and the presentation of the stars, and planets had begun to play overhead. He didn't need to focus much on the echoing words of his talk: which was a small mercy, as he was too busy trying to spot whether or not Seren had turned up. But to his surprise, and excitement, she had. The raven haired doctor was sitting close to the door, hands folded in her lap as she glanced up at the ceiling, before over to him. An awkward, yet adorable wave made him grin, before continuing the rest of his show. It was much easier now that he knew she had turned up, but at the same time it dragged a little. He enoyed these shows, but he wanted to talk to her, and to enjoy their evening.

—-

"I'm so glad you came."

"Of course, I said I would." Seren had waited for the people to file out of the planetarium after the show concluded, and had taken her things over to see Raesh. A friendly peck to the cheek, before she slipped on her coat, keeping a hold of her bag.

"I wasn't sure if Penny scared you off or not." He gestured for her to follow him outside, and smiled at the laugh his statement wrought from her. Seren grinned as she buttoned up her jacket, and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"She didn't. I mean, it's good to see that your friends care about you." She wished she had friends like that. Settling into a new country wasn't easy, and so far, she just had her friends from work. They didn't particularly pay much attention to her, and she didn't expect them to. But it was a little lonely, and her evenings were spent either Skyping her parents, or watching the TV. She was rather enjoying spending time with Rajesh: he was sweet, and interesting.

"That's one way to put it. Shall we go for dinner?" He asked, and Seren nodded, before getting into the passenger side of his car when he held the door open for her. He was such a gentleman, romantic, she liked that. It was going to be a good evening, she was for certain.

—-

"I can't believe you've never made souffle before."

"I know, but I think the recipe came out pretty well."

The dinner date had turned into spending almost every night together for the next month. Things had been going slowly, but they'd been all over the city, in different restaurants, movies, days out. Seren liked seeing more of the city, and had even invited him over for dinner several times. That was where they were that evening: Seren had made dinner, and to her delight, her first attempt at a dessert hadn't collapsed, and embarrassed her.

She was smiling as she set the two plates down: chocolate souffle, with a toffee sauce. One thing she'd noticed they had in common, and bonded over- cooking. It was always a fight over who got to try the latest recipe they'd seen on a baking show. Seren enjoyed herself. He wasn't the typically butch type that she had dated in the past, and it was a welcome relief. Sweet, sensitive, and such a hopeless romantic. Seren had spent a long time looking for those qualities.

But definitely not as long as Raj had. She liked to bake, they spent hours watching terribly heartwarming movies, and she listened to his stories about the stars. He quite liked seeing her, and had been brave enough to postulate the question on whether they were exclusively dating, or not. Seren had said yes, but they hadn't quite labelled things yet. It worked for the both of them, even if his friends were antsy to meet her.

"What are you doing for the rest of the night?" Seren questioned, happily perched on the opposite side of her kitchen island. She was eating mouthfuls of dessert: it wasn't as good as the things he made for her, but it was pretty damn close.

"I'm supposed to be going over to my friends' place, but definitely not for dinner. Local food can't compete with this."

That made Seren grin, cheeks slightly pink from the compliment. She did try, and her Chinese food was, in her opinion, better than that offered by the restaurants nearby.

"My friends have been asking about you." He was definitely nervous to mention this. His lack of luck in dating meant that his friends were very curious whenever he met someone, and especially as it had been a month, and Seren hadn't left yet. But he also knew that Seren was shy, and he didn't want to scare her off.

"Really? I wouldn't have thought they'd be interested."

"Of course they are, you're a smart, beautiful woman. Way out of my league."

The compliment made her grin again, but she reached to squeeze his hand a moment. The contact made something in him skip. "I'm not out of your league."

She was so sweet, in his opinion. And perfect. It reminded him of what Howard had said to try and stop him going to propose to Anu- somewhere there was a woman who liked baking shows, sweater vets, all the things he loved. Seren fit that very, very well.

Seren seemed to be debating with herself, while she chewed on a mouthful of the chocolate dessert. What harm would meeting his friends do? She didn't have any. And his friend Penny seemed very forthcoming, but she had meant no harm. If they cared about him that much, they must be good people. Seren had never had friends like that.

"Alright, I'll meet your friends. Maybe next time we will spend time together."

She could see the instant joy alight in his eyes, and it made her smile. Reaching her free hand to entwine their fingers, rather enjoying the warmth of it.

"That means a lot. My friends are like family– unless you don't like them.

She laughed, before moving to stand, so she could place her now empty bowl in the kitchen. Her long ebony hair glittered in the soft kitchen lights, and Raj found himself watching her. She was so beautiful, and he wanted to reach out for her, but avoided doing so. He was polite, knew she was shy, and the thought made him a little nervous. She could so easily reject him.

—-

"I had a really good time."

"So did I." Seren was positively beaming to herself as they walked- she had offered to walk him home, and he had agreed, on the condition that she took an Uber home. It was late, he didn't want her to be walking back alone, and Seren had agreed. He was so sweet, she liked that. Her arm was linked with his, the soft tap of her heels clicking against the pavement. He had a bag full of leftover muffins she'd made, and wanted his feedback on: she was adorably sweet. He'd try them all, and see if she'd be open to trying his own.

"Maybe next time we can go to the outdoor theatre. They're showing Dirty Dancing again."

"Or we can go the time after next. I did promise to meet your friends– but I did enjoy that film." Seren twirled playfully under his arm, laughing as they bounced along. She was quite happy, content, and enjoying every moment. The walk to his apartment was over too quickly for her liking, though, and she huffed as they paused outside. The cicadas were humming, and she could hear Cinnamon sniffling around inside.

"Call me with a time and place?

"Of course." Raj would have to fight the urge to call her the second he got inside. According to Penny, it was custom to wait at least twelve hours. He rested his hands on Seren's narrow sides, the raven haired woman beaming at the contact. "And you make sure you get home safe."

"I will." She kissed him then, much to his surprise, and hers. They had just been so close, Seren enjoying the warmth and peace of the moment, and the last month. It was a surprise indeed, but he was delighted. Holding her warm form against his, and enjoying the subtle taste of chocolate on her soft lips. One hand rested on her back, the other against the side of her face.

It was perfect, yet not enough all at the same time. It felt like a long time, yet not long enough when she had to break away. Gently cupping his face, and pressing a light kiss to his lips. "Goodnight, Raj."

"Goodnight, Seren."

—-