AN: It took me like nine months, but here this baby is!
"We are the champions!" Kai crowed, slamming into Lloyd and sending them both spinning across the ice.
"Not precisely champions," Pix corrected. "We won our first game, that's all."
"Champions of our first game!" Kai crowed from his spot half-hanging over Lloyd's shoulder.
Cole gave one more wave across the ice rink to the team they'd beaten and turned to join the rest of them. "What should we do to celebrate?"
"Well, no one has the rink reserved right after this, so-" Nya began.
"We're not practicing right after easily winning our first game, Nya," Skylor interrupted.
"We could," Nya said.
"But we're not," Skylor said. "It's that simple. We're not practicing. We're going out to eat to celebrate, my treat."
Jay whooped in agreement, and Lloyd, Kai, Pix, and Cole all raised their arms in a cheer, and so Nya grinned and gave in.
Once all their gear was taken off and stowed away, they all grouped up at the ice rink entrance.
"I'm thinking we're having appetizers for dessert," Jay said.
"That's weird, Jay," Cole said. "We're having dessert for dessert. Let's go to a bakery."
"What kind of bakery is still open at like seven in the evening on a Saturday?" Jay pointed out.
"A really good one," Cole said firmly.
"Anyway, I'm buying, so it's my choice where we're going, and we're going to Chen's," Skylor said loudly over Jay's starting retort.
Jay cheered.
"Sounds good to me," Pix said.
"Isn't Chen's closed for repairs?" Kai asked.
"The one on Fifth Street is," Skylor said. "The one over on the corner of Thirty-Fifth Street and Island Avenue is open, and Clouse is the front-of-house manager there sometimes when the Fifth Street one is closed. He's on a shift tonight, I think."
"Oh, cool," Kai said. "So you can get us in quicker probably."
"Carpool, bus, or walk?" Cole asked.
"Not walk," Lloyd said definitively. "My legs are killing me."
"Aw, was baby's first real hockey game too much for him?" Kai cooed.
Lloyd stuck his tongue out at Kai.
Kai flicked Lloyd's tongue with one finger
Lloyd shrieked and reeled his tongue back in, then he tackled Kai.
"Carpool," Nya said. "Cole, you take Jay, Skylor, and Pix, and I take Kai and Lloyd?"
"You really want to take both Kai and Lloyd?" Cole asked frankly.
Nya side-eyed her brothers, who were currently entangled in what looked like a two-sided headlock. "Eh. I'll manage."
"You always do," Jay said with a laugh.
As soon as they all made it to the restaurant, Skylor stepped up to the front, had a few words with the server standing there, and stepped back to the rest of them, reporting, "She's going to check with Clouse, and then she'll get us seated if he okay's it."
"Epic. That's epic," Kai said, swinging an arm around her shoulders and kissing her forehead. "I have an epic girlfriend."
"And I have an embarrassing boyfriend," Skylor retorted, but she let him kiss her forehead again anyway.
Soon enough, the server waved Skylor over, and they all tramped back to a large corner booth.
"Your waiter will be with you shortly," the server said, giving them a nod.
"Thanks," Skylor said, nodding back.
After a brief scuffle between Kai and Pix over who got the very corner part of the booth, which Jay actually won by slipping past the arguing two and plopping himself down, the rest of them got seated easily enough and started discussing how the game went.
"So, based on our strengths and weaknesses as shown tonight, our strategy for the next game is clear," Nya said firmly when the conversation started dying down.
"Is it, though?" Kai murmured.
Jay cackled.
"It is," Nya said, but before she could explain, she was interrupted by a voice that was starting to become familiar.
"Good evening, my name is Zane and I'll be your waiter tonight-"
"Hey!" Cole said delightedly, slapping both hands down on the table. "I didn't know you worked here, buddy. I thought you worked over at that tech spot, Dimensional Devices or something."
Zane blinked at him. "I do."
"But you also work here," Cole said.
"I do," Zane said again.
Cole nodded. "Cool. That's pretty cool. Two jobs can be rough, though, I bet."
Zane paused for a moment. "What can I get you all to drink?"
Cole winced. "Sorry. No personal talk while you're on the job. That's fair. I'll just do water."
"I'm treating," Skylor reminded.
"In that case, I'll definitely do orange juice," Cole said, revising what he'd said before.
Zane went around the booth, going from Cole at one end all the way to Nya at the other.
When he got to Nya, she tried not to squirm as she said, "Just water, please. I need to hydrate after that game."
"Fair," Skylor said.
Zane noted that down and disappeared around the corner.
Nya bit her lip and tried not to feel awkward. It was hard, but she did her best, and she kept doing her best, right through the drinks, through the food, and all the way through Skylor paying the check. Then it was too hard, and she made her decision.
"You all head to the parking lot, I'll be along in a minute," she said over the current debate over what movie to watch at Cole and Kai's dorm room.
The debate paused. Every head swiveled toward where she was still sitting in the booth while all the others had started to stand and stretch.
"I'll be along in a minute," she repeated.
Cole frowned, like he was going to ask something.
Lloyd and Kai, however, traded glances.
"Sounds good," Kai said breezily, and he started for the door, calling back. "Meet you at the car!"
Lloyd followed him, then Jay and Pix, then Skylor, and finally Cole with a single backward glance.
Nya gave him a grin that hopefully looked more reassuring than the queasy way it felt. Then she sat and waited.
After a minute, she saw Zane approaching the table. She stood.
Zane drew to a halt before he reached the table.
She stepped toward him. "Hey."
"Hey," Zane repeated, his eyes locked onto the corner booth's table. "I need to clean that."
"Of course," Nya said, feeling a little silly and stepping aside.
Zane approached the table again and started stacking plates.
"I don't want to bother you at work," Nya said. "But I feel like I'm a bother no matter what, unfortunately."
"You are not a bother," Zane said, still stacking plates, and it actually sounded genuine. Not that she thought he would lie, but that he didn't have reason for what he said to be true. Nya definitely felt like a bother around him.
"Okay," Nya said anyway. "Could we talk sometime? I'd still like to have you come to the ice-rink-saving meetings, if you're open to it."
Zane paused, still looking down at the stack of plates. "I am open to it."
"But I want to make sure I'm not making you uncomfortable, so I want to talk before you come," Nya said. "When you're not at work, I mean."
"I see," Zane said. "That's kind of you."
Nya fidgeted for a moment when he didn't say anything else. "So how can I talk with you? When and where works for you?"
"I am usually in the library between 2 PM and 4:30 PM on Sundays," Zane offered. "I will be there tomorrow as well."
"Sounds good," Nya said. "See you then?"
"I will see you then," Zane agreed.
Nya nodded. Then, feeling silly again, this time for having nodded because Zane was still looking down at the table, she said, "Okay. Um. Bye."
"Goodbye," Zane's voice came after a few moments as he started cleaning the table again.
"Goodbye," Nya repeated, even though she'd already said "bye." So, feeling even more silly, she left.