Storm forked a bite of salad gently into her mouth. She and Logan were out to dinner on their first official date, and neither knew what to say. It was very quiet, but not a calm quiet. An awkward, tense quiet. Storm ate slowly and deliberately to keep herself from exploding from sheer lack of conversation with her significant other. Inside she was kicking herself for not planning out what to say, how to say it- ergo, to keep conversation flowing.

"How's your salad?" he said gently through a mouthful of soup.

"Not bad," she replied. He wasn't uneasy. He was used to lack of conversation, and was feeling very comfortable indeed. He knew, though, that he needed to start a conversation soon. Storm wasn't known for sitting silently and feeling at all welcome. He gave her one of his most winning smiles, and she returned it, albeit a bit feebly. He reached over and brushed a bit of dressing off of her cheek.

"Logan..." she said slowly and intently. He cocked his head sideways and waited for her to go on. "Would you come back and help us teach?" Logan chuckled uneasily. Storm wasn't sure this was going to be an answer she'd like to hear.

"I'm sorry, Storm, but I'm just not cut out for the whole teaching thing." He had surprised himself, sounding that together and with it. The truth was, he was totally stunned. He could never teach. It wasn't his forte. It never would be, either. Children didn't listen or respect him unless he threatened them, which was not something he planned to do. Ever.

"Logan, that's not true and you know it," she said with what she hoped sounded reasonably like a laugh. "You could do nearly anything if you set your mind to it."

"Please don't talk to me like one of your students, Storm," he said gently. "Want a bite of soup? It's delicious."

Storm was stunned. Did he just say what she thought she heard him say? She hadn't meant to treat him like a student, just to raise his standards of himself. She said as much, but he said something nondescript and changed the subject. She found herself furious with him, but, at her own consternation, more in love with him than ever before. She struggled with herself inside.

He, of course, noticed that Storm seemed slightly less floaty than before. Maybe he brought her back down to Earth. That would be a healthy thing, for sure. But he did hope that he hadn't dampened her spirits too much. It was lovely to see her being happy and sweet again. He hadn't seen her like that since... He didn't want to go there. It always ended up badly. But what was there to do?

He reached across the table and took her hand in his. It seemed the most intimate gesture he could think of. She smiled and squeezed it back, still slightly hesitant.

"I'm sorry, Storm. I didn't mean-"

"It's alright," she cut in, squeezing his hand again and withdrawing hers as the server came with their main dishes. "I'm sorry, too." They then chatted the night away, about nonsense and unimportant things, and Storm floated up into her airy perch again, though not as whimsical as last time.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Angel paced about in the kitchen. It was nearing 7:30 in the evening, and he was supposed to ask Leah to have dinner with him in a few days. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. Women had never made him nervous before. He was always confident, taking long strides and sweeping them off their feet. How could he do that to Leah when he couldn't bring himself to even ask her to dinner?

He took a few deep breaths, and for what seemed like the eightieth time he forced himself down the hallway towards her room. And again, like all the other times, just before he got there he swung around and swept himself right back into the kitchen again. He cursed his own stupid nerves, took a few deep breaths again, and made one final attempt.

He stopped paying attention when he was in the hallway and soon found himself outside her door. He then knocked on it, and found himself thinking again that this was a bad, bad idea and she would say no, and he would be humiliated, and he'd never-

"Angel?" said Leah, who had opened the door in the middle of his worrying. He put on what he hoped was his most winning smile.

"Hey Leah. How are you?"

"I'm good! Do come in." She gestured him into her room, feeling tired and sore but very happy to see him. She watched him walk around, examining her belongings just as he had done with her office. It always helped him to get to know someone if he could see what their living spaces looked like. She sat on the bed, playing with her fingers nervously.

"It's a very nice room," he said sweetly after finishing his rounds. "You gave it such a homey feel." She blushed. He sat down next to her and turned up his palms. "Alright, the cat's out of the bag." She looked at him questioningly, and he laughed a little. "What I really came here to ask you, Leah, is if you would go to dinner with me tomorrow." She let out a little sigh. He was nearly shaking with tension.

"Oh..." she said quietly, color rising in her cheeks again. He looked down at his hands, then back up at her face. This wasn't going too well, he thought.

"So... will you?" he ventured, searching her face. He nearly expired of relief as he saw the happiness and anticipation cross her face.

"Yes!" she said with enthusiasm and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh, yes!" He returned the embrace and they sat their for a little while, feeling each other's bodies pressed against each other. He pulled back after a while, kissed her gently and quickly on the mouth, gave her a little wave and swept himself out the door, white wings and all.

Leah wrapped herself in her blanket and lay on her bed, giggling. She had been asked out by a proper, non-disgusting boy that she actually had feelings for. She hadn't felt so happy in a long time. It was a wonderful, warm, fuzzy feeling to know that she was about to join Storm on the Happy Relationship Cloud.