Charlotte was off to her L.I.M.P. Summer Camp, for the last time. She would be away for a couple of weeks and not really have the time to contact her friends and stuff. She would have time to make little videos of herself, though. So, that's what she decided to do. Almost as soon as she would post, Jasper would heart them, and comment something encouraging. Whenever she got back home, he was the first person that she called, to let him know that she was back and to see if he wanted to hang out for a while.
She had tanned even darker over the past couple of weeks, and had her hair temporarily in braids. "Should we call Henry?" She wondered. But, Henry was on patrol, so they went without him to catch up and eat. They did that a few times whenever he was on patrol.
.
Whenever they met up again, Charlotte came with a maple bacon donut and a vanilla milkshake for Jasper, and Jasper came with her cupcake and coffee order. Henry looked between the both of them and wondered, "SO… Nobody told me that we'd be grabbing sweets and drinks? I just gotta settle for auto snacker breakfast, huh? You two are just gonna…" He realized that neither of them were paying attention to him. They were kinda in their own world, exchanging the orders and talking about the lines at their respective spots. His was long, hers short. Charlotte made a face each time Henry made a sound, so he knew that she heard/was actively ignoring him, but Jasper was as focused on her as each of his brain cells would allow.
Finally, she turned to Henry and said, "And I got YOU some churros and horchata." She and Jasper walked shoulder to shoulder and Henry trailed behind, scarfing down churros and just observing. Little things. Jasper desperately keeping himself from taking her hand into his, so much that his fingers twitched and he shivered when their hands brushed against each other's. Charlotte … giggling?
"Hey.. You two dating?" Henry asked.
Charlotte sighed and rolled her eyes, "Henry…" She just shook her head, like she couldn't believe that he had asked that. But, Henry noted to himself, she didn't say "No." And… from what he remembered from the number of times that Schwoz had asked her about herself and Henry, she usually very quickly shut down the possibility of it. So, even if she and Jasper weren't dating… She… Didn't seem as against it as she had been against the thought of dating Henry. He would've thought she'd be even more argumentative about dating Jasper. She didn't seem like the girl who a few months ago was disgusted by the thought of sharing a retainer with him. Now… she was touching the small of his back and laughing quietly with him. "It's cute," Henry said.
"Don't," was all that Charlotte said back to him, giving him a Stern look when she did. Charlotte wasn't trying to go in circles with Henry about what was or wasn't happening with Jasper. Mainly because she didn't even know for herself, so it wasn't Henry's business until she understood it enough to explain. Jasper didn't respond, either time. But, he couldn't stop smiling, either.
Technically, they weren't "dating," but they had been spending time together with just the two of them and they did stuff like this for each other whenever they could. She also was considerate and remembered to get something for Henry. Jasper usually forgot by the time he made his way to the front of the long line. He'd get his breakfast and make sure to get Charlotte's because she liked this place more than the place closer to her house, but it was out of her way whenever she met up with them, usually. This place was fine, but they didn't have fun stuff like that maple bacon donut, which Jasper could literally eat an entire box of by himself. So, they wound up getting each other's likes on the way.
Now, Jasper could easily take all this to mean that Charlotte was just a good friend and being considerate of her boys. But, while she didn't forget Henry when she made a purchase. She wasn't walking next to him with her hand in contact with his body the whole time. Jasper wasn't the smartest guy, but he was good at paying attention to what girls he wanted did.
.
Man Band practice generally went well. But, neither of them felt like practicing today. They were going to do nothing. Doing nothing was fun and they hadn't been able to do nothing for a while. So, instead of practicing, they just hung out and talked. Charlotte played her instrument a little, then Jasper wanted to try, so she stood behind him to position his hands and explain how to play. He was being as cute and charming as he could be, and Charlotte admitted at some point, "I kinda can see how you won over a couple of cute girls in your life. You're kinda smooth when you wanna be, aren't you?"
It took a lot of his self control not to squee at her compliment. He could hardly breathe, but he was very aware that she was looking at him, probably for a reaction. He did his best not to give her one. He told himself to play this cool. "Well, I wanna be smooth all of the time. No matter how much I try, I know I'd never be able to get a girl like you, though."
Now, it was him waiting and watching for a reaction. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Maybe you could… But, it wouldn't be easy." She got from behind him and grabbed her green tea smoothie, and took a sip. Her eyes traced Jasper and he noticed, or he thought he did. But, he wasn't sure and after her last statement… He simply made a silent agreement. Challenge Accepted.
Ray came in dressed as Captain Man and they both grabbed their instruments, giggled about almost being caught slacking off, and began practicing. Come to find out… He didn't even remember telling them to learn to play them! Ugh. Charlotte was done with him already. But, work soon called. Though, work tonight was going to be an undercover party.
Jasper was in a great mood. Partially because they were going to be allowed to go on the mission with the team. Charlotte wasn't excited about it, but of course Jasper was. Plus, Ray had told Jasper that he could be his human shield? He was indestructible! How could Jasper possibly think that was a good deal? As Charlotte designed her dress and made her recipe, she called out, "Schwoz!" He came rushing over and she asked, "You didn't put any more butt in here, did you?"
He smiled and said, "I don't know."
"I'm gonna go grab a dress. Tell the guys I'll be back before Henry even wakes up." She grabbed her bag and muttered, "I'm not chewing no butt!"
.
Upon going to the party and realizing that they were improperly dressed, Charlotte went to do a quick change, then got to work. Jasper soon followed suit. If there was anybody to follow, it was Charlotte. So, he did what she did. Then, they chilled a while.
They probably should have been working, but Henry and Ray were working, so both of them decided to relax a little. Besides, Joss Moss was going to open her gifts and Jasper and Charlotte were both excited to see what she might get.
"O.M.G. These have gotta be the best gifts known to man. If I don't wind up making it big, I've gotta marry rich. I should be this spoiled!" Charlotte said.
Jasper committed that comment to memory and helped himself to a drink. Henry sat down with them, trying to talk about the mission, but both of his friends were clearly distracted.
It was frustrating for Henry. He couldn't help but be annoyed. First, his two best friends began getting closer when he wasn't around, then they began showing that closeness, right in front of his face, and now - they had been invited on this job and neither of them seemed to even care! In fact, Jasper rushed off to steal Charlotte a bag! Henry was mentally exhausted with the two of them, more Jasper, though. Charlotte at least contributed by causing a distraction for him.
At the end of the party, Jasper and Charlotte left together, her with a new bag in tow and him feeling pretty much like her hero for getting it for her. They were both in a great mood and while they had decided to head home and just check in with Henry and Ray later, Jasper wasn't ready to end the night with her.
"Wanna go to the park?" He wondered.
"Why, so you can poop on the playground?" She asked and laughed at his annoyed face. "It's getting late. I should be getting home." He nodded, but he looked sad. She felt bad and sighed, "Okay. We can go to the park for a little while! But, I do have to get home right after that!"
They headed to the park, swung while they chatted, and played on the carousel. They were laying down on it, spinning slower now and looking up at the stars. "Okay, so, earlier you made a joke about marrying rich."
"Wasn't joking. I've always planned on having money someday. Seeing Joss's gifts just solidified my desire to have nice things. Whether I get them for myself or someone gets them for me."
"What else kind of husband you want?"
Charlotte wasn't sure why they were discussing this, but she wasn't thinking too deeply into it, either. "Other than rich? The usual, I guess. Smart, handsome, funny, brave."
"Do guys come with all of that in one package?" He asked, intimidated by the long list of advantages.
"Everyone has the potential. If I can't meet him that way, I'll make him that way." She laughed. "Of course, this is hypothetical. I'm kinda the least fun person I've ever known. Getting someone to put up with me will be a challenge, much more getting someone to stick around."
"Anybody lucky enough to win you over, better be aware enough to do whatever it takes to keep you."
She smiled, "Most guys that I encounter do not see me that way. You know it. Even in the Man Cave, I'm always at the butt of some joke. Nobody appreciates me, and whenever I happen to be right or accomplish something, everyone downgrades my efforts and insinuates that I'm either a show off or that I'm boring. It's downright aggravating at times. It's definitely affected my professional attitude and my work ethic when I'm there. Sometimes, I don't even care about the job, anymore."
Jasper sat up and looked at her laying down in the moonlight. "Not everyone thinks and acts that way, though. I don't recall ever doing that to you. Do I not count or something?"
She sat up too and said, "Of course you count, and I didn't mean everyone. But, it does feel like that sometimes."
"Funny you should say that, because I feel similar. It often feels like everybody thinks that I'm stupid or useless. Everybody in the Man Cave has an actual purpose and contribution, then here I come, there to either get blasted by Ray just for existing, or to have you snap at me for communicating things too slowly."
She winced and asked, "But… I've gotten better about that, right? I mean… lately I've felt like I've become nicer to you." She really had been trying to, at least.
"You have. It's never really bothered me before. I only mentioned it now, because I didn't want you to feel isolated. We all get our fair share of flack at work, I think. Sometimes, an unfair share. But, that's probably how it is on every job. People are always complaining about their jobs."
"You've got a point." She looked at her phone and said, "And on that note, I really gotta get home." He nodded, climbed off of the carousel, stopped it from spinning, and extended a hand to help her up.
Whenever they reached her house, she commented, "Thanks for the Gherkin bag. You were pretty awesome tonight."
He blushed, "You were awesome too. I saw you pull a fast one on Piper for Henry."
Now, it was her turn to blush. "I didn't even realize that you were paying attention."
"I always pay attention to you…" Her eyes widened and he backed away slowly. "Well, goodnight. See you at work tomorrow."
"Yeah. Night." He walked off humming the James Bond theme song to himself, happily. Charlotte smiled at his exiting form before going inside, confused. Highly confused and a little bit scared. What the heck was Jasper doing to her?