i'm so in love with you, i just thought that you should know.

@ buchanan

Lexi glanced over at her to give a smile then responded, "Great, I hope I can hold you to that then." She turned to look outside of the window to look around the shops and restaurants. It had been a while since she had actually paused to look at the various shops that had moved in and out. Even her favorite local arts and crafts store had gone out of business. Shame. "Well, at least the food wouldn't go to waste." She reasoned since she knew that some people just threw out their food without a second thought. Getting out of the car, she wrapped her coat tighter around her body, feeling the chill of the night. "Whatever is cool with me. I just want to get inside." She shivered as the wind blew. Alexandra felt a hand at the small of her back and jumped only to see that it was Scarlett. "Jeez, sorry, you actually scared me."

--

Eric wouldn't have let a busty blonde or a petite red head do that to him either, but Ariel didn't know that. "College, I suppose. It's not like I even had time to think about dating during training. That place was practically a living hell." He thought back to all the studying and physically demanding exercises he had been put through. At one point, he didn't think he was going to make the cut-off, but, luckily, Eric did. "Only if you were as devoted to studying as you were to food." He shook his head while stepping on the gas pedal when the light turned green. Veg and Bake was just down the street from here, and Eric could tell that it was a bit of a dead night for all the restaurants and shops. Giving a chuckle, Eric couldn't think of the last time he had wanted to date a person. "Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm not really in the market to look right now."

"It's not very busy, we could stay in and eat, nothing rushed" Scarlett said as she smiled at Alexandra and lead her to the meter, slipping in four quarters for the max amount of time. She didn't move her hand from Alexandra, always protective of any victims she had to spent time alone with and even so in public. "If you feel you want to leave at any moment just tell me and we'll pack up and leave" Walking up the front steps she opened the glass door and allowed Alexandra inside first then following close behind. The place was far more empty than on any usual night but the football game was also tonight and many people got festive and went to bars or straight home after the long day so it wasn't a surprise to see more of elder people inside. "Hey Officer Flores" A young female greeted, a warm smile on her face and two menus in her arm, already leading them to a spacious booth to sit at.

---

"But Camilla is very nice, and you know it, she's in med and you're a cop, that'd be quite the team" Ariel surged on. He knew Eric, or anyone else, didn't have to be in a relationship to be happy, but it was always nice to have someone who liked you for you and would sit there waiting with open arms. The very first year Ariel knew Eric, he had the biggest crush on the other, always stuttering and blushing and getting queasy, he slowly grew out of it by his junior year and by his senior he was 'dating' different men and he wasn't so infatuated with Eric. "You're so boring and lonely Eric, do you at least get laid? A big guy like you ought to have ladies in line" Ariel teased, sneakily reaching over and pinching Eric's bicep. Nearly all the females in his family who have meet Eric instantly liked him, he was good looking and had an education, went off to be a cop as well which was just icing on the cake. Ariel wouldn't be surprised if Eric did have a literal waiting list.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

@ buchanan

With Scarlett's lead, she moved inside of the restaurant and felt the sudden change in temperature. The warmth finally reached its way to her hands, and Lexi sighed with relief since they were no longer at the mercy of the wind. "Sure, if I accidentally fall asleep and fall into my meal, that will be my sign." She warned in a joking manner as the woman lead them to their table. It seemed like Scarlett was already well known at Veg and Bake, considering that the hostess knew her by name. The place was tiny and quaint, but Lexi really enjoyed it so far. Shrugging off her coat, she threw it on her side of the booth before sliding inside. "Any suggestions for the newbie, Officer?" She questioned, starting to leaf through the menu. Everything about vegan food was pretty foreign to her, and she wasn't even sure where to begin to look.

--

"I'm not really interested right now. The job has gotten me all tied up, not mention my other job tutoring you. I don't think I'd be doing Camilla the justice she deserves." Eric replied back, insisting that it wouldn't be the best idea for him to date. He was trying to make as many excuses as possible since it wouldn't be easy to merely say that he wasn't interested in women. Being in the closet for about six years, he still felt completely comfortable in his position. Not expecting that kind of question from Ariel, Eric practically swerved the car before gaining control once more. "You really want to know everything about my love life, don't you? I am pretty sure that my life is not boring and lonely." He retorted, content in the state he was in. Eric had a great job and was making great money; he could afford to have almost anything that he wanted. "I'm happy with the way that my life is." Eric reiterated, wanting to just end it at that. He pulled into the parking lot of Veg and Bake, seeing that it was a quiet night. Although, he couldn't help but notice the cop car in the parking spot over.

Taking a sit across from Alexandra, Scarlett opened the menu and bit down on her bottom lip as she looked through the menu, she loved a majority of the food and wasn't sure which one she even wanted for herself but she knew she could help Alexandra at least. "Depends, there's some rice and beans if you aren't into tofu or soy" she said with a shrug as she reached over and pointed to where the food was listen at,"Vegan mac and cheese taste the same as actual mac and cheese, honestly, no joke, the same, if you want something sweet you could skip to something like a pumpkin pie slice or something" Scarlett retreated her hand and laughed,"Sorry, I kinda suck at introducing the food, when I came here for the first time I went into the vegetarian menu because I wasn't too sure about vegan food" she said honestly, the menu was ninety percent vegan but there was a small section of vegetarian friendly food.

---

"I'm pretty sure your life is boring, you just proved my point too by saying you wont have time since you work and tutor me" Ariel snickered as he took his seat belt off and pulled his sleeves past his hands to keep them shield from the cold. His mouth was just watering at the thought of some freshly made food, his favorite nonetheless and then of course some dessert because he always had extra room in his stomach for more food. Getting out of the car Ariel's body racked with a sudden shudder, the soft hairs on the back of his neck sticking up."Hey, maybe you should just date me, I'll fit perfectly in your life since I'm with you everyday" Ariel said trying to keep his voice calm and causal though he wanted to burst out into laughter because the words were ridiculous."I promise to be a good boyfriend, I've been told I would make a pretty girl too" Wrapping his arms around his frame Ariel turned around and began to walk backwards towards Veg and Bake so he could look at Eric.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

@ buchanan

"Nah, I'm not really a tofu person. Something about the way that my mother prepared it growing up scarred me for life." She explained, scrunching her nose at the idea of tofu. Somehow, her mother prepared tofu in a way that made it practically inedible, but Lexi was forced to not waste resources. There were a multitude of other choices though, so Alexandra was sure she could find something. It was nice change of pace to have vegan food as opposed to Chinese take-out. "Mac and cheese sounds amazing right about now." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. Comfort food was the only thing that could make her feel better right now. "No, no, don't worry about it. You're helping me out. I would be completely lost right now without some sort of guidance." Lexi admitted with a small laugh. Flipping through the pages once more, she decided that she would stick to mac and cheese.

--

After catching up with Ariel, Eric reached over to ruffle his hair, knowing that he hated it. "Yeah, yeah, it's called making a living. Life can't all be fun and games when you have bills to pay." He retorted then stuffed his hands inside of his pockets to protect them from the cold, wanting to get inside of the restaurant already. It was pretty chilly even though it was merely fall. Hearing Ariel's proposal, he paused for a moment out of shock. At first, Eric was sure he had heard the statement incorrectly, but the follow-up sentence only clarified it. Was he actually being serious? If he were serious, Ariel would have been laughing by now though. Eric swallowed while shrugging his shoulders slightly, unsure of how he felt about Ariel. He definitely saw him as a little brother and wasn't sure if it was more than that. "I don't know, Ariel. I'm not really kidding when I say that I'm busy. Not that I think you would be a bad boyfriend, but.. I would have to think about it." Eric settled on, thinking that was the best way to express his thoughts.

Scarlett really liked people in general, speaking to them or just watching them go about their day. She really liked making friends with them as well, she liked when they told her about their families or their favorite meal, what they aspire to be, or when they speak about something they love so passionately. She loved people for what they were and all of their complexities, she liked Alexandra's distaste of tofu because of her mothers cooking and she liked that she was willing to try something a bit different while other tended to be a bit more close minded than others."Too kind" Scarlett said, shaking her head as she closed the menu and pushed it to the side, already knowing what she wanted to order,"I think you'd be just find without my shitty guidance, all the food is amazing so I don't think you'd have chosen wrong"

---

Ariel rose a brow before he started to laugh, not having been able to hold it in much longer, especially not with the reply he had just received. "You're ridiculous, you can't just say you'll 'think' about dating me, that's so lame, you should never settle on just anyone, find someone special dummy," rolling his eyes fondly of the other, he wasn't sure what went through Eric's mind and he hoped the other wasn't serious for multiple reasons. They just wouldn't match, sometimes Ariel didn't even think they matched even as friends, felt like he was sometimes too bothersome and overactive for Eric who was more work oriented and generally not as playful or energized. It was a little weird they even became friend, or at least Ariel liked to think of them as friends, Eric would probably be too nice to tell him they aren't friends."Anyways what are you thinking of eating?" he asked, bouncing up the stairs and quickly entering, the warm air flushing his skin.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

@ buchanan

Lexi closed the menu at approximately the same time as Scarlett. Reaching out, she grabbed the menu to stack it on top of hers for the waiter/waitress to take later. "Your guidance is not shitty, Officer. You simply like everything on the menu too much to actually pick." She protested since her guidance was better than nothing. Without her, Alexandra would have been flipping aimlessly through it. "You know, it's nice to have dinner with someone. I'm always working, and I recently broke up with my girlfriend. I have been a little lonely. So, thanks for the food and the place to sleep." She earnestly told her, hoping that hadn't been too much information. Lexi was pretty much an open book when it came to personal details. There was nothing for her to hide, so she never hid it. It was as simple as that.

--

Eric was a bit startled when Ariel started to laugh before joining in on the banter. Of course, he had been joking this entire time. How could he believe otherwise? "I was just pulling your leg, Ariel. If I wanted you as my boyfriend, I think I would have made that clear by now." He chuckled, continuing to shrug off the whole ordeal. For a moment, he paused to think about their relationship. Eric knew that they were no longer strictly the student and the tutor. They had known each other for a good five years as well. It was a little odd to think of Ariel as anything more than a friend though. Eric pulled open the door for Ariel to walk inside of the restaurant, feeling the rush of warm air. "I'm feeling some tofu tonight." He responded as they walked inside to the hostess. Glancing around the restaurant, he didn't notice anyone familiar.. yet. Maybe by some stroke of luck, he would completely miss the other officer inside of Veg and Bake.

"Hey, don't call me officer, makes me feel really weird since it's after work, Scarlett alright?" Scarlett spoke easily, not wanting there to be that civilian/cop boundary between them as it made her feel immensely uncomfortable, specially since some people saw being a cop a superiority sort of thing and Scarlett didn't find her no less better or worse than those who were students or workers at McDonald or any other job. Resting her folded arms upon the table Scarlett's brows shot up when she heard the term 'girlfriend', it wasn't like she assumed everyone was straight- it was just a little shocking since a lot of people weren't too open on their sexuality. Scarlett personally was right down the middle, she didn't hide the fact she liked woman, nor did she announce it to everyone, if she was asked she would reply if she was not, then no one needed to know. Trying to regain her cover and not let her expression seem insulting Scarlett smiled warmly,"Your welcome, glad I could make things just a little better for you"

The waitress came over just a few seconds later, smiling bright and alert for such a time of night."Hey Scarlett, strange seeing you here" she joked easily, taking out her notepad and clicking her pen, sending Alexandra a smile as well out of kindness."You two ready to order?"

---

Ariel scrunched up his nose cutely at the mention of tofu, he wasn't a big fan himself and tended to lean towards soy or didn't alternatives. He didn't comment on it though as the worker smiled at them,"Hey guys, hows it going?" she asked casually,"Weird having two cops in here without there being a robbery or something" she added with a laugh, leading them over to their regular spot, just in the nook of the place where they could easily fade in and watch others, the heaters (or fans during the summer) were just by them so they were always warm or comfortable. Taking a seat he shook his head at the waitress when she offered him a menu, the lady rolling her eyes since she knew the kid knew the menu by heart."Could I get the white hot chocolate please" he asked, combing his fingers through his messy hair and grinning excitedly, food always placed him in a good mood.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

@ buchanan

"Okay, Scarlett. Pretty name, by the way." She corrected herself but still wasn't use to saying it. It was a little odd since the previous name had placed a line between them. Alexandra could identify herself as the pitiful victim with Scarlett as her savior. Now, that boundary was a little blurred. She never used any officer's first name before either. Propping her elbow onto the table, she leaned her cheek against her hand, chuckling at her reaction to the girlfriend statement. She didn't feel ashamed or embarrassed about the fact that she was a lesbian nor did she care what others thought of it. Being attracted to women is what made Lexi.. Lexi. "Thanks. If you're a homophobic or something though, I can't really say that I'm sorry for liking women." She stated bluntly, stirring her straw around in her cup. Although, Alexandra had a feeling that Scarlett wasn't one of those people.

She returned the smile back to the waitress then glanced over at Scarlett. It seemed like everyone in Veg and Bake knew her. Giving a slight nod, she allowed Scarlett to order first then follow with her order. "Mac and cheese, please." She requested while handing over the menus for her to take.

--

Eric smiled at the hostess, taking his hands out of his pockets. "The usual. Hard day at work tutoring this kid and then we decided to get dinner." He stated, glancing over at Ariel. Ariel probably wanted to skip all of the small talk and get straight to the food. They had to be courteous to the lady though. "You don't say? Who else is here?" He questioned, wanting to get the scoop on the other officer. If it was Figueroa, Eric was completely screwed. He would never live down going to a vegan restaurant. He followed her towards his seat, sliding in. "And just a coke for me. Thanks." Eric stated then grabbed a menu from the stack. Unlike Ariel, he hadn't memorized the menu and was wondering if anything else would strike him. "You can order ahead of me, if you want. I don't want to keep you starving." He offered while flipping through the pages.

Scarlett and homophobic never went along in a sentence. If Figueroa heard that he would have laughed so hard his lung would have came out his mouth, rolled on the ground and died from blood loss because Scarlett was not, nor will ever be homophobic. Not that Alexandra would know. Biting her lip Scarlett refrained from laughing as she shrugged her shoulders casually,"Nah, I'm not homophobic, got plenty of gay friends" she said with a chuckle, not being able to hold it in with such a lame excuse of 'plenty of gay friends'. "Sorry, sorry, no I'm not homophobic at all, very well shouldn't be when my job is to protect people, no matter their sexuality, race, identity, or anything else that may play into factor" Scarlett only saw people as they were, people, didn't matter that they had different interest and taste, they were still all people and it was ridiculous to pick and choose.

Ordering her food before Alexandra, Scarlett couldn't help but keep an eye on her. It shouldn't change anything that the other liked girls, it really shouldn't, but it did, it slightly budged Scarlett into what Figueroa called her 'Predator mode' where she would ' size up her prey, and see if they were of her taste'.

---

"Sounds like a long day then, knowing Ariel he must have tired you out" The waitress said with a laugh as she tapped her finger nail against Ariel's temple to where he huffed and waved his hand at her,"Why don't you go back to work Helena and get me Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal with a side of soy pudding" Ariel huffed lightly, meaninglessly as he pretended to be bothered by her when in reality she was probably his favorite worker here. Helena rolled her eyes as she wrote down his order and looked to Eric,"Scarlett is here with a really pretty girl, walked in like five minutes ago" she told him in a whisper as if there was anything else to it. Ariel perked up at the sound of Scarlett's name and turned so he could spot her, didn't take very long before he could see her laughing in front of another female with darker hair. Turning back Ariel nudged Eric,"Hurry up and order, if I die there will be witnesses and a cop here ready to arrest you"

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

@ buchanan

Lexi raised an eyebrow at Scarlett, not knowing why she was laughing. Perhaps it was the proposal that she would even be homophobic? Although, the reason that she had 'gay friends' was not one of the best for defending that she was not homophobic. "Okay, Offic-, I mean, Scarlett. You're doing the right thing then by protecting this country regardless of sexuality and the like." She offered a slight smile, finishing off her glass of water. After finishing with taking her order, Alexandra glanced back over at Scarlett to see she was already looking right back at her. "Uh, do I have something on my face? Cause that would be kind of embarrassing, and you should tell me now." She questioned, holding eye contact with the officer. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a teenage boy looking over at them, but it was just for a moment. Lexi decided that it must have been a quickly glance from Scarlett's sudden laughter.

--

Giving an enthusiastic nod back, Eric knew that she could understand what Ariel was like. The kid was wonderful, but he was definitely a ball of energy. Sometimes, he had trouble keeping up with him. "Alright, thanks for the information, Helena." He flashed her another smile, wondering where the two women sat. It was odd that Scarlett had decided to come here with someone other than a coworker. Maybe she had finally found a girlfriend that suited her standards. Figueroa would have a kick if he knew that Scarlett was here with a woman. "And yet the offer is still tempting." He teased, taking his time looking through the menu. Despite already knowing what he wanted to eat, Eric decided that he would take his time to thoroughly look throughout the menu. They were not in a rush to leave the restaurant anyway nor was Ariel starving, right? "Hmm, I'm tossed between two items, Ariel. I think I may need some more time." He commented with a slight grin to his face.

With a smile on her face she shook her head, "You've got nothing on your face, you're fine" she informed the other, pulling her eyes away finally as she caught herself staring. She'd be an awful liar if she said Alexandra wasn't pretty, if anything beautiful. She had these large expressive eyes and cupid bow lips that matched, and her personality wasn't off par either. She was rather welcoming and easy to speak and get along with, Scarlett already had some trust in the other as well and it wasn't because she was easy on the eyes. "You know besides a face you're clear" Scarlett grinned, always a bit of a lame joker, always easy to please and nearly anything made her laugh. Life is too short to be upset over everything in the world, sometimes you just have to laugh at a picture of a cat with a orange on its head. "No, but seriously you're fine, sorry if I seemed a little off putting" she apologized quick, not wanting Alexandra to find her creepy for staring at her for no particular reason. Definitely not the impression she wanted to make.
-
Ariel feigned a gasp at Eric's words before he looked at Helena, "You heard that right, I'm gonna need you as my witness" he exclaimed, gently kicking Eric under the table. His legs definitely weren't very long but since Eric's were he didn't have to reach far to kick the other. "Sorry Ariel, all I heard was him thanking me" Helena said with a chuckle as she shook her head at the two, "Wave me over once you've got your order ready" she said before walking off towards the back since the resturant wasn't busy at all. "Eric if you don't pick then I'll knock on your door at the crack of night when you have morning shifts" Ariel hissed as he was too hungry to keep messing around with the other. He knew Eric was just joking with him but if he stretched it out for much longer than he would have a very grumpy Ariel and no one likes him when he's grumpy and mean."Or better yet, I'll make an online dating profile for you and use your real phone number, they'll be loads of girls ringing you up about your big arms and ridiculous prince charming smile"

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

@ buchanan

Hearing that she was fine, Alexandra relaxed in her seat and let out a sigh. The thought of why Scarlett had stared at her had not even crossed her mind though. "That's great to hear." She replied in a relieved tone. It would have been awful to face the Officer like that, especially since she had struck her fancy from the start. Now that she actually had time to look at Scarlett, she finally took notice of her lovely waved hair. It perfectly fell around her face, framing it. Lexi even felt the urge to reach out, wanting to know if it was as soft as it looked. Not even wanting to go into detail about her alluring eyes, she took a drink of her water to find that it was already empty. "Darn, I wonder where our waitress went off to." She questioned but looked around to find her no where near. Alexandra gave a light laugh in response to Scarlett's joke and liked the way it lightened the situation. "I would hope that I had at least a face, and it was not offensive in any way." She grinned.

--

"Yep, Helena likes my 'ridiculous prince charming smiling'." He chuckled as the waitress turned against Ariel. Feeling the kick beneath the table, Eric played it off as if he had not felt anything. In fact, it was merely a tap for the cop. "Alright, alright, alright. I don't want a hungry, vicious teenage boy coming after me." He caved by quickly waving to Helena to come back to the table. Luckily, she had only wandered off a few feet before having to turn around. "I would like the tofu curry. Thanks, again, Helena." Eric requested while handing off his menu for her to take. Leaning his arms on the table, he looked over at Ariel. "You definitely would not great a dating profile for me, by the way. Then, you would have to actually share me with other people. I may not even get your text messages underneath all those texts from other women." He pointed out with a small grin. For a moment, Eric wondered if it would even be a surprise for others that he was truly gay. Even Ariel was completely certain that he was as straight as a line.

"She just took our order" Scarlett snickered as she shook her head at Alexandra. Although the resturant was tasty and her favorite it was a bit slow since they never rushed their food, they took special liberties for when the place was having a dim night of cooking extra slow and larger potions for the midnighters or early morning customers, today was a bit special because of the game though. "We'll probably have to wait a little longer for our food, I think it'll be worth it" she dragged on, tapping her blunt nails over the wood tablet in a way to keep her hands busy. Just past Alexandra's head Scarlett could spot a tuff of messy hair in the back that looked awfully familiar but she couldnt put her tongue on who it could be so she ignored it, hoping the other would turn and she could get a glimpse."Yeah you've got a face, a very pretty one as well" Scarlett said smoothly, hoping it came off as easy as it sounded, girls tended to compliment one another a bit sometimes after all.
-
"I'm sure everyone likes your smile Eric, let's me real" Ariel chuckled softly, looking up at the other with a rather private smile for just him. Eric was tall, strong, and handsome. He works as a cop and is probably an angel in disguise, Ariel has seen people with his own eyes fall in love with Eric in seconds flat, it was ridiculous honestly. Grabbing a sugar packet Ariel ripped the corner off and tilted his head before pouring it into his mouth and eating it. Crumbling up the little empty packet Ariel threw it at Eric and landed it in his hair. "I'm not too worried, you'd probably search my name up to see my text" Ariel said with a smirk, they were close after all and texted one another everday,"That is if you're not already spending time with me," after the handful of years they've been somewhat attached at the hip, going from just tutoring in Ariel's parents house to going to lunch everyday and a movie on the weekends. Ariel has meet nearly everyone who works with Eric and Eric knew everyone Ariel texted, which wasn't many but Eric still knew.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

@ buchanan

"But that was, like, ten minutes ago." Alexandra countered automatically due to her impatience. With a sigh, she decided that she had no other choice but to wait. Her thirst could wait a few moments longer, and it was not about to kill her anyway. "It's fine. As long as the food's good, I could wait a few hours." She waved it off since it had been a while since she had food that did not taste like cardboard. That was one of the few things she could wait for. Resting her chin back into the palm of her hand, Lexi paused to look at Scarlett once more. "Why thank you. You're very pretty yourself." She responded back to the compliment, slightly afraid the embarrassment would show. It was not every day that a beautiful women like Scarlett would compliment her. Seeing the waitress out of the corner of her eye, Alexandra quickly called her over to request another glass of water.

--

Eric merely chuckled since that was something he had trouble believing. "I am sure that somewhere in the world someone thinks that my smile is irritating." He pointed out, looking back at Ariel. Scrunching his face as Ariel downed the sugar, he could not imagine how that would satisfy his hunger. "Ariel, I bet that will only make you more hungry." Running his hand through his hair, he felt the empty packet drop his from his hair onto his lap. Eric picked up to place it back onto the table. "Right, of course. There is not a day that goes by that I don't worry about if you have texted me." He responded with sarcasm dripping from his voice. Of course, they were close, and Eric did have Ariel underneath his favorites. He doubted that it would ever go to that extent though. "What would you do if I missed out on one of our sessions for a date anyway?" He questioned out of curiosity.

Scarlett smiled small and private. Sure she often got compliments but it was mostly from misogynist males who thought cat calling and saying stuff like 'You're a really good cop for a girl,", this compliment beat them all since she knew Alexandra had nothing to gain from her nor was she trying to be a git. Scarlett often appreciated females more but it wasn't just because she had a overall preference for them but lots of males still had a horrible stigma. "Glad you noticed," Scarlett tilted her head off to the side and chuckled, pretending to be a bit full of herself as a joke."Was worried you were blind for a moment, would've been disappointed if I hadn't received a compliment within the hour, I feed off of them like all cops"

---

Glancing at the packets of sugar Ariel shrugged, probably might, but he liked the taste and it kept him preoccupied since he was a restless person. Narrowing his eyes at Eric Ariel flipped him off,"Let me stop texting you then, while I'm at it I could also ignore your calls since clearly you don't care very much if I'm alive day to day" he shot at the other, giving him a weary look before grabbing another packet of sugar. "I don't know, I'll be worried if you just didn't appear, but if you tell me I'll be okay with it," Ariel shrugged easily, he wasn't a very jealous person and he was quite alright with a lot of things. If Eric wanted to go out on a date then so be it, even if it meant they couldn't hang out."I'd be glad really, Eric finally pursuing another part of your life that's not work"

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

@ buchanan

When the waitress walked away, Lexi turned her attention back to Scarlett. She could not help but realize how much she was enjoying their impromptu dinner. It was comforting to have a person by her side, especially after having an incident like that. "How could I not notice? I would definitely be blind." She joked back, continuing on with their friendly flirting. Leaning forward slightly, Alexandra looked into her eyes and found herself mesmerized. "I mean, you already have brownie points in my book for practically saving my life." She laughed since it was obvious that it was an attractive trait. Police officers were practically heroes that stood for the law. Alexandra did not even notice when the waitress came back with her refilled glass of water since she was too distracted by Scarlett.

--

Eric could see that he was clearly annoyed by the response even though it had only meant to be a joke. "Hey, Ariel, I was just joking. You know that I would care about whether you were alive or not. I'm feeding you right now, aren't I?" He pointed out. It was probably just the fact that he had not eaten in a while though; it always made him a little more sensitive than usual. "Well, I mean, I guess it would nice to have someone to care about, but I obviously don't have enough time for that. It would just be unfair to that other person if the relationship were half-hearted." Eric shrugged since his life was completely centered around working. After college, he really did not have time to even think about dating a person with all of his police entrance exams.

Scarlett couldn't help but blush like rays of the sun, her tan skin helping cover it more than if she was as pale and fair skinned as the other. Naturally being rather playful and very comfortable with new people Scarlett nudged Alexandra's foot under the table, a little game of footsies, a challenge even."Aw, don't say that" she laughed, shaking her head as her face lit up a little, she could see the waitress stacking up a round dish with steaming food. She wouldn't say she saved the others life, or even somewhat did, Scarlett feels like that was giving her too much credit and she felt a little uncomfortable like that."But thank you for the brownie points, I'm striving to win them all, perhaps one day I could buy out the town if I had enough"

---

"Yeah, whatever" Ariel brushed off, he wasn't going to get into that and he didn't want to upset Eric with any of his over emotional self doubt blabber and then ruin their little night out. Shifting around in his seat Ariel brought his legs up and crossed them, feeling much more comfortable and secure when he was compact."Anyways, will you ever tell me if you've killed someone?" he asked, always curious about such things and even though he knew some topics like the cases Eric worked were confidential he still liked to ask in hopes that the other would just spill it."I won't tell anyone or think less of you, Hotchner from Criminal Minds has killed like eight people, and even Spencer shot someone"

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

@ buchanan

Lexi could see that the compliment had earned a few brownie points of her own in Scarlett's book, feeling the nudge underneath the table. Deciding to be a little more playful back, Alexandra gave her a slight nudge back with a growing smile on her face. She would accept the little challenge. "I am sure that you will soon gather them all." She agreed while the waitress finally came towards them with their food. Alexandra inhaled and felt her mouth watering with the mac and cheese. "Wow, this smells amazing." She commented when the waitress walked away to tend to the other tables.

--

Deciding to drop the matter, Eric did not want to push Ariel any further. He could tell that the mood was turning a little sour with the advancement of the topic. Taking a sip of his drink, he listened to Ariel's question and almost choked on the liquid. He placed the drink down while attempting to cough up the liquid that had entered into his lungs. "Why.. Why would you want to know that?" He questioned since it was something that was supposed to remain confidential. Eric had not even shot a person on duty yet, and he hoped that he would never have to do it. "Ariel, it's not the same as Criminal Minds. If I shoot someone, that person is actually going to be hurt and have to go to the hospital. It's not some television show where the person goes home for the day after being shot. It's not something that I take lightly."

"Yeah, maybe" Scarlett says rather fondly, her eyes going soft as she leaned back into the booth and relaxed. Her muscles untensed and she went soft all over, she felt at peace in the restaurant, her smile picking up as the food was placed gently in front of them, steamy and delicious."Smells delicious and will taste even better" She promises, taking her fork and digging in instantaneously. No matter how many times she had this very dish she would never get tired of it. Glancing up at Lexi Scarlett nodded to the food once the other had taken a bite,"How do you like it?"

---

"Hey, I know it's nothing to be taken lightly Eric" Ariel says lightly, reaching over and pressing his thumb into the palm of Eric's larger hand."If you shoot someone it's because they're a danger right? You'll be stopping someone from doing something bad yeah? They'll deserve it, wouldn't they?" He asks, smiling slow and soft,"Don't be like that Eric, come on" He knew better than to take such things lightly, he knew peoples lives were in danger, there were others breaking laws, and being shot, or shooting was serious, he was just so curious on Eric's job that he always tended to ask such questions.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX