Author's Notes/Disclaimer: Finally getting around to updating this thing again. Hopefully people are still reading it! Kudos to everyone who caught the Akita Evita reference in the last chapter... The things you'll find when you pay close attention, huh? I (still) don't own anything here. I (still) don't have money. What I do have is candy I'm selling for the drama department, so if you'd like to buy some... Well. Just read the story and we'll call it a donation.
For the first time in his life, Collins found himself staring into the full-length bedroom mirror clad only in his boxers as he wondered what he was going to wear to dinner. He never put much thought into dressing. Usually, one of two things would happen. He would either find whatever clothes looked clean, sniff them once just to make sure, and wear them, or he would consult Angel. The latter happened more often for obvious reasons. On this particular occasion though, Collins wanted to do it himself and surprise her.
"Think sophisticated," he muttered to himself. This wasn't anything like lecturing on Heidegger or Rousseau, and suddenly he had a newfound appreciation for Angel's everyday routine. He certainly couldn't pull together outfits like she could.
"Did your pants eat you in there or what, honey?" Speak of the devil. Or rather, the angel.
"Almost ready," he called out. He glanced over at their bed, now covered in various articles of clothing, and sighed. There had to be a method to doing this. He grabbed his favorite pair of jeans and pulled them on, then a plain white button up shirt. Almost begrudgingly, he spied the black vest Angel had purchased for him on his birthday. He hated that vest. It made him feel old and stuffy even when Angel made comments on how handsome it looked on him. Well, it was Angel's turn to be made happy now, so he put it on over his shirt. The worst part was, he had to admit it made him look a bit thinner and maybe even a bit taller. He grabbed his infamous black skull cap and pulled on his boots, heading toward the door just as Angel opened it.
"I was getting ready to send in a search party, I hope you know," she said, walking in wearing her best Valentine's Day attire - a black turtleneck, short pink skirt, and her favorite zebra print stockings. She was dressed to kill.
"I wanted to look my best for you," he said as he motioned to the vest.
A huge grin spread across Angel's face and she let out a squeal, launching herself into his arms. "I always told you how good that vest made you look! What a gorgeous man I have here."
Collins couldn't help but blush the slightest bit, looking down at his scuffed boots as he grinned. Angel's compliments always made him feel like he was fifteen again. "Are you ready to head out?"
Angel nodded, trotting past him and into the bedroom. Collins knew by now what she was doing, and smiled as she fell into routine. A pat of her wig, a glance into the mirror placed atop her vanity, a smack of lips to check her lipstick, and a wink from her reflection to his. She quickly sorted through her menagerie of earrings, picking out a pair that fit the occasion – ones with several silver and pink hearts that hung low like a chandelier. Now hands would sweep down her chest to rest on her hips as she made one final inspection of her outfit. The routine was endearing, and he'd come to notice the smallest details about it, like the way she cocked her head to the side just as she placed her hands on her hips. Did she do this to check her figure? Probably, he thought, though he wasn't sure why. His baby was perfect.
Before he'd snapped out of his daze, her small hand was seeking out his larger one. She was leading him to the door and was saying something, although he only tuned in in time to hear the last sentence of her speech.
"And don't forget your coat, honey. It's going to be chilly out."
"Girl, you must be crazy if you think I'd forget that."
As soon as they were outside, Collins went to hail the cab. It was as if he'd jumped into the flames of Hell to declare his love for her. Angel was completely shocked, and not to mention very giddy, at the thought of a cab ride all the way to the Life Café. It was something he would have had a hard time understanding if he didn't know Angel to the extent that he did. To her, the simplest thing could become a fantastic adventure. Taking a taxi cab to dinner was just one thing on a very long list. She'd clung to his free arm as his other one flailed in the air, her small frame shivering a tiny bit from the cold as she watched his breath come out in puffs when he shouted. Eventually a cab slowed to a stop and they got in, and he'd started to watch her reactions the moment they'd pulled away from the curb.
Angel sat quietly, nose practically pressed up against the glass for the longest while. Her eyes were fixated on the scenery passing by, which wasn't much. There were lifeless trees and miserable looking people milling around. Winter left everything looking severely muted, most of the color being provided by storefronts displaying their goods, along with paper hearts and such in honor of the holiday. She turned to him with a bright smile, pointing out the window. "Isn't this so much fun? It's the most romantic thing."
Collins' brows shot up incredulously. This was romantic? The cab itself smelled vaguely of whiskey, the driver was listening to country music and hardly spoke a word of English, and on top of all that they'd sped through red lights twice already.
"It is."
Sometimes it was just best to agree rather than to bring up the harsh truth. Angel tended to border on ignorance to the untrained eye, but Collins knew she just chose to not acknowledge the things that could possibly dampen the mood. She wanted to live, not be held back by limitations. Life is shitty, but things could be worse, she'd said once. I've found the one person in this world who could save me from being alone. Talk about giving destiny a little bitch slap. Angel was optimistic to say the very least. With such amazement toward every little thing around her, the ride didn't seem long.
She was also right about one other very important thing. It was extremely cold outside, and Collins quickly herded her inside the Café. Warmth and the smell of good food flooded over them both, and Collins wasted no time in taking off his coat and draping it over his arm. He placed both hands on Angel's hips and guided her over to the host, a rather uptight looking man who seemed almost reluctant to seat them.
"I, uh..." He adjusted his glasses and suddenly Collins remembered him. "Tonight's probably, um, not a good night to be causing a ruckus, sir..."
Collins nodded sympathetically, but as he did so he let a hand slowly move down Angel's thigh. She giggled, and the host looked down with an uncomfortable smile. The hand was now slipping underneath the fabric of Angel's skirt, and she bit down on her lip to hide the grin threatening to take over her face. Suddenly the playful expression was gone, and the host looked on with a very disturbed twitch of his lips as Angel let out a soft moan.
"There's a table in the back."
Collins and Angel exchanged a look and moved on past the flustered man, making their way to the very isolated table in the rear of the café that was usually left open for Maureen when she decided to show up – specifically when she decided to bring Joanne along with her. The staff had become accustomed to finding specific spots to keep the group of bohemians out of trouble, and Collins felt a bit proud he'd been upgraded to the groping table.
Angel sat, smiling angelically as she placed her hands in her lap and let Collins push the chair up to the table. She brought a hand up to brush a few strands of the wig out of her face, and leaned in close as she squinted her eyes. "I expect you to finish what you started back there, sweetie."
"Dessert," Collins said simply as he adjusted his cap.
"With a cherry on top if you're extra good to me."
Their conversations often went from innocent to sexual to very deep with little to no warning, so when Collins reached across the table to grab her hand and kiss it, there was nothing strange about that. They both grinned. "I love you," he said softly.
"Igualmente," she cooed. Collins had insisted on Spanish lessons about a month earlier, stating that he learned the basics in high school and could easily pick it back up. He got frustrated when it came time to conjugate verbs, and that's when the lessons ended, formally at least. She had told him he wasn't putting enough effort into it. He countered that his brain was already bogged down with English and Latin. She just smiled and said they'd continue when he was going to be less stubborn.
"Mi novia hermosa," he replied with a smug smile, as if to impress her with his retained knowledge.
"Collins, baby? Me hace caliente con su pasión y yo quiero desnudarse sobre la mesa."
Of course, if Collins spoke the language fluently he would have known that she had just expressed her desire to throw him down on the table and get him naked, but he didn't so he just smiled as he absently played with the fork in front of him. "Very romantic."
She said nothing, just tipped him a wink and began to fiddle with her own silverware, polishing the spoon and looking at herself with it as the waiter came by to take their drink orders. Sitting in the back of the Life Café at a table Maureen and Joanne had probably fornicated on wasn't completely up to par with what he'd planned, but he was slowly becoming assured that the night would live up to his expectations – and more importantly, hers.
