simple as this

Really sorry it took forever to put up, but we finally finished! Hope this is a bit of nice fluff.. Enjoy!

Michelle gently spread the bright red sun dress she had decided to wear across the surface of her bed. Smoothing it out against the soft mattress, she thought of the day that she had seen the beautiful outfit in a store window, and, despite it's price, knew she had to have it. It was just one of those instincts most woman have when temptation takes over. (Even if there is no particular occasion to wear it to.)

She had walked out of that store holding a fancy bag with a ribbon handle firmly gripped in hand, and her wallet feeling much emptier. Michelle had felt that rush of excitement one always gets after making an amazing, though outrageously expensive, purchase. She simply could not wait to find a place to wear it.

That had been just over five months ago. That night, after gingerly unwrapping it from its perfect silver tissue paper and finding her best clothes hanger to rack it in her closet, Michelle had realized that there would be no event to wear the wonderful outfit to. For five months, the dress remained hidden in the back of her closet, never seeing the light of day. No life, she thought to herself, I have absolutely NO life.

This was why five months later, on an early Friday evening, Michelle had walked with pride towards her overly stuffed, yet ridiculously organized closet, and removed the bright red dress with satisfaction. Unlike many first dates, she knew exactly what to wear.

Tony grumbled as he fished through his overly stuffed drawer of… Well, at this point in time, it was hard to tell what the drawer had originally been intended to hold. At this moment, it was jammed full of piles of various crumpled, mismatched pieces of clothing. Tony took a mental note to one day, completely clean out the damned thing as he tried to find a second sock that resembled the one lying on the floor behind him.

Finally, after half of the drawer's contents were messily sprawled across his bedroom floor, he had found what he was looking for. Proudly, he held up the two oddly shaped Christmas themed socks, and took a moment to happily examine their fading holly embroidery. Some may laugh, but to Tony, these were no ordinary socks; these were his lucky date socks.

Ever since he could remember, Tony had always made a point of wearing his trusty socks on every first date. They were his way to give himself a boost of confidence before the big night. After carefully pulling each lump over his feet, he wiggled his toes, feeling the soft, worn cotton surrounding them, and stepped down onto the hard floor. Tony wandered over to the mirror, checking his appearance. For once, he saw the reflection of a perfectly shaved, perfectly groomed man, with a glimmer of nervousness in his eyes. Not that he'd ever admit that he was at all nervous.

This was a very important night.

Michelle, grasping a large comb in her hand, stared at herself in her bathroom mirror. About 20 pairs of earrings and 4 different shades of lipstick later, she had decided her current appearance was the best she could hope for. Though she had been meticulous with the other aspects of her appearance, she had saved a large chunk of the evening to handle the most important, and most difficult portion of her outfit: her hair.

Michelle's hair had been the one thing that she had never been able to tame her entire life. Only a short while after she was born, the unmanageably thick, frizzy curls had begun to pop out of her head like a wild nest of wires for some mysterious tropical bird. That was how her mother put it.

Since then, she had tried just about every single method of maintaining it; creams, blow driers, irons... For a while she even took an actual iron and used it to straighten her hair... But eventually Michelle had realized that nothing could be done about it. She was a Dessler, and although she had also been given the family's strength and wit, she had been given the family gene of disastrous hair.

As usual, Michelle scooped up the drying curls into a low bun, and mashed the already-frizzing top with a handful of heavy-duty gel. She sighed as she again scrutinized her appearance; it looked exactly as it did just about every single day at work; boring and plain. But it was the best she could do without a head of uncontrollable mess. Finally, she was ready. As she walked over to grab her bag, Michelle checked her watch. 8:26... He should be here any minute..

Tony eased into the driver's seat of his car, shut the door, and quickly glanced out the front window. The first stars were beginning to appear, now only faint sparks of light against the pale black sky. Catching a glimpse of them reminded Tony of what he was about to do, making him smile with excitement. The entire week of preparation and anticipation for this very day had finally come to a close, and here he was, minutes away from the first date with Michelle. He prayed beyond all odds that everything would go well, and that the night would live up to his expectations. At this moment, however, he had absolutely no idea what was yet to come.

Pulling out of the apartment's driveway, Tony remembered the last time he had been to Michelle's house. The few weeks it had been seemed like forever, while simultaneously seeming like yesterday. Although the circumstances were much different, Tony still had the same nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. The stakes were much higher this time. Though he spent his entire week with Michelle, and had seen her only a couple of hours ago, he wanted this night to be... Different. Special.

This wasn't the first time he had dated someone from work, though. Tony cringed as he remembered Nina's and his first date; there had been a certain attraction between them at first sight... Or so he had thought. He wasn't exactly sure what about that relationship was actually true. But since he had dated someone who had worked with him before, he was used to the late hour that the date was starting, as it was just about the only time he or Michelle could fit in without overlapping with one of their work schedules. Even getting out at the early hour of 7:30 had been difficult for Tony. But a quick, excited glance from Michelle as he had exited the building had made everything worth it.

Now here he was, stepping out of his car, and for the second time, heading towards Michelle's front door. His hand quivered as he extended his arm to ring the doorbell.

Michelle, who was readily waiting only feet away from the door, leapt into action at the startling sound of the doorbell. She made a note of waiting a couple of seconds before casually opening the door, as if she hadn't really been looking forward to this. Hopefully he wouldn't catch on just how much she had… And was.

As expected, he stood there facing her, his hands also casually resting in his pockets. His calm, yet slightly anxious expression seemed to perfectly match his hazy surroundings, making Michelle tickle with excitement.

Through her hesitation, her lips slowly curved into a slight smile as she debated how to ask her gorgeous date, yes DATE, inside.

"Umm... Wanna come in? For a quick drink or something? Unless you don't need a drink, I mean I-"

He quickly interrupted her blabber, saving her from a likely humiliation.

"Sure."

He cocked his head slightly as her trembling fingers reached to open the door fully. Michelle let him enter, and briefly glanced around before she led him to the kitchen. She knew too well that there was no need to show him around, as he had been in this very kitchen not to long ago…

"Cheers."

The wine had been poured, and he faced her as he held his glass.

"To finally getting to this much anticipated date."

They laughed together as they sipped their wine, nervousness floating away while enjoying the presence of one another.

Half a bottle of wine and plenty of humor-filled conversations later. They had left Michelle's house slightly buzzed and ready for a wonderful evening. As they got into the car and backed out of her driveway, Tony turned to Michelle, smirking, as she told him one of the common Chloe-stories from work.

"Can you believe the nerve of that woman? And honestly, her face looks like its permanently CONSTIPATED!"

She trailed off into a fit of laughter, but quickly halted with his stern response.

"Michelle..."

They were stopped at a red light, and Tony was giving her an intense glare. She looked down at the dashboard to try and avoid eye contact, ashamed at her obnoxious behavior. How could she have been so nasty? That was an awful thing to say! She cursed herself for having that third cup of wine.

"I'm sorry, that was-"

For the second time, Tony interrupted her apology, picking up her chin so there was no way of avoiding him.

"You look beautiful tonight."

Michelle felt her entire body go limp with his wonderful compliment. Not many people besides her father had called her beautiful before…

She decided that it was time to stop processing every word she said. She just had to be herself, to give in to first instincts. And at this moment, her first instinct was to grab the back of his head and plunge into a deep, much awaited kiss. His tongue met hers, and the street lights and car engines seemed to fade away as they continued to kiss, and kiss, and kiss…

It was only when an angry man waiting behind them gave a loud honk did they break apart with a jolt. Michelle fell into the back of her seat as Tony, realizing it was a green light, sped through the intersection.

Kissing him is like candy… NO. Drugs! You can't help wanting more and more. She glanced over to find a frustratingly expressionless Tony concentrating on the road, but she swore she saw a slight smile creep along his face.

Tony could not believe his luck. Less than an hour into the date he had received one of the hottest make-out sessions he had ever experienced. As he held back his grin, he decided he liked slightly drunk Michelle. After a calm, peaceful silence, that let him process what had just happened, they reached their destination, a small movie theater. He and Michelle began heading over towards the entrance, and as he graciously open the door for her to enter, he prayed beyond all odds that there were tickets left. Being his forgetful self, he had forgotten to get movie tickets, even though he had known the theater would be mobbed on a Friday night. Walking up to the saleswoman, he held his breath as he asked for tickets for the film. Her mocking expression made his hopeful heart sink.

"Honey, are ya kiddin' me? Tix sold out a while ago. But we do have tickets for one movie..."

Simultaneously, both Michelle and Tony demanded, "What?"

The smirking saleswoman, whom Tony had now decided he despised answered them quickly.

"Umm. Gigglebites II."

What? Was she KIDDING? Did she honestly expect him to take his date to a G-rated animated children's movie?

"No thanks, but we appreciate the offer."

He immediately took Michelle's arm and yanked her towards the exit. To his surprise, though, before he could utter any sort of apology, Michelle gave him a large grin.

"Lets do it."

"Umm… What?"

"Tony, I came here to see a movie, lets just SEE IT! It'll be hilarious!"

He had no intention to see Giggle-whatever, but he couldn't help but enjoy the prospect of laughing through a stupid children's movie with Michelle. And with 2 1/2 cups of wine making him feel slightly more adventurous, he accepted her offer.

"Ok."

Giving Michelle money to buy drinks and popcorn he bravely approached the gum-chewing saleswoman and asked to purchase two tickets to "Gigglebites."

For a moment, the woman stood there in awe as her jaw dropped open. Tony had to suppress laughing aloud as she dumbfoundedly gave him the tickets and told him which theater to go to.

He met Michelle back at the snack counter, watching her try to find the best deal on Diet Coke. When she finished her purchase and handed him his Sprite, he gave her a quick peck before showing her to movie theater four.

Michelle giggled as they slowly sneaked into the movie that had already begun. She and Tony headed to the back of the theater, her favorite spot, finding the perfect middle seat in the nearly empty theater. Sitting down next to Tony, she started sipping on her Diet Coke, which she had miraculously gotten at a great deal, often putting it down to take a piece of popcorn, or to give Tony a long kiss. Mostly it was for the second reason. After an hour of Mr. Giggle wandering through Tickle land looking for his long lost friend, the credits started climbing up the screen, and the lights faded up. Both Tony and Michelle had been so fixated on each other that they barely seemed to notice.

Finally, they stood up, brushing crumbs of popcorn off onto the floor, and wandered out of the theater. Once back at Tony's car, Michelle looked up at him and smiled.

"Great movie."

Her comment sent them both into fits of light laughter.

"Definitely... I can't wait to see part III!"

They climbed into his car, Michelle's heart bubbling with happiness. Only then did she realize they still had an entire dinner ahead of them.

"So... Where to next?"

Tony turned to the road, biting his lower lip.

"You'll see."

After a few minutes of silence within the car, Tony turned towards, Michelle, taking a deep breath.

"You know, Michelle, I'm not the type to notice these kinda things... But I think there's something wrong with your hair."

At first, Michelle was shocked at his comment. Did he really hate her hair that much to say it to her face? Then, she realized that for him to say something like that, there must be something wrong. Immediately her eyes widened with shock, and her hand went straight to the dashboard mirror. As soon as she pulled it down, the astonishing reflection made her gasp with horror.

Instead of the flat, low bun she'd been expecting, the mirror showed 3 large locks of curly hair sticking straight up over her head. It looked as if she had just received some sort of electric shock. As she bruised down the strands, she began to question Tony.

"How long has it been like that? Why haven't you TOLD me? Did you see it happen? Has it always been like that?"

Tony was having a hard time suppressing laughter as he answered her question.

"Michelle, it must've happened in the theater. The reason I didn't tell you is because, frankly, I didn't notice. It's really not that bad.."

His comfort seemed to give no comfort."

"ARE YOU KIDDING? JUST LOOK AT IT!"

She vigorously began taking out the bun, letting her hair flow down to her shoulders. She sighed, realizing she must've put a tad too much gel, and.. Well, her hair must have been ruined sometime during the movie. When her hair was finally down and in place, she started the same routine of putting it back in a bun. But before she could do anything, Tony's hand stopped her.

"Michelle.. Why don't you leave it down? I think it looks wonderful like that."

His warm smile and kind comment left Michelle's cheeks as red as her dress, but she obliged and left her hair be. Maybe the curls aren't that bad after all.

He turned out to have chosen a small, charming restaurant on a busy street, even in the late hour of 11. As they laughed their way towards the front, they were quickly seated in a table right near the window. They were handed menus, offered drinks, and soon left to their own devices.

After a while of leafing through their menus, a slow conversation began to simmer.

"So Michelle, tell me. Are you that hardworking, overly-neat coworker I've gotten to know, or this bubbling adventurous woman I've just met?"

Without thinking, Michelle smiled as she replied, "Honestly, to tell you the truth, I have absolutely no idea."

This comment sent their conversation off into a variety of different subjects: histories, funny stories, favorites… The conversation never bored her.

Finally, before she knew it, the waiter was handing them the check.

After they paid, they strolled leisurely back out to Tony's car for a third time.

Michelle leaned against the side of the car, and once again, trusted her instincts.

"Tony, do you want to come ov-"

Her daring attempt was quickly interrupted by the shrill ring of Tony's cell phone. He groaned as he flipped it open to answer.

"Almeida,"

Michelle knew immediately who it was by the roll of Tony's eyes.

"Yes, Chappelle... I'll come... YES, I'll call Michelle... No... It's ok, it's only my day off. No... I'm just kidding. Not really. See you soon."

He was at a loss of words, so instead he offered Michelle a pained look.

Of course... The one time I needed this not to happen... Michelle cursed her luck as she and Tony hopped into the car, and headed towards CTU.

Though she was angry at the turn of events, she wasn't nearly as pissed as she expected herself to be. She relaxed into her seat, realizing that this was the most wonderful date she had ever been on. And this time, she knew there would be a second.

Just so you know, this is the final chapter if Simple As This. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, we hope you enjoyed the story!