There was something missing.

Sebastian wasn't sure what it was, but it was there: an empty space gnawing at the back of his mind. Like an empty room that had been walled off, it lay dormant but not forgotten.

No matter what he did, no matter how full his days were with practicing the sword, stopping in at the Church of Everlasting Life functions, reading the paper, discussing philosophy with his self-termed 'apostles', or going for walks around the city, it didn't go away. The emptiness bothered him.

He hadn't really realized how much until he had returned from Wisconsin.

He had come home, expecting a warm return, but life had gone on without him. No one really cared that he was back at all. The members of the church were surprised and happy, of course, but they didn't really need him. Things were running smoothly even without his presence.

He didn't have many friends.

He had no family to miss him.

So why did he feel so attached to New York? Why had he wanted to come back so badly? There was something here he missed, he just wasn't sure what it was.

Even seeing Noel again hadn't made the feeling go away. He had thought it might. She was the closest friend he had, but their reunion had been about as exciting as if he'd come home after a long day at work rather than months in another state.

He was lonely.

He needed a distraction.

Perhaps he needed... a date?

Sebastian unlocked the apartment door one handed, the other holding a bouquet of flowers. That was how one did things these days, according to commercials and billboards. One brought a girl flowers.

"Noel?" He called out tentatively. "Would you do me the honor of having dinner with me this evening?" The unicorn man flourished the flowers, then held them in her direction with his most charming smile.

There was a speck of gunk stuck at the bottom of the tallest glass in the apartment.

Noel scrubbed at it with a sponge while the kitchen sink ran with steaming water. She liked that cup because it held the most water. After her run and shower, a big tall glass of water was what she wanted most. Except she found a glob of dried goo at the bottom. The dishwasher, her arch nemesis, was trying to foil her plans.

> "Noel?"

She used her elbow to shut the water off and brought the sponge and cup with her as she went to greet her swordmaster at the door.

> "Would you do me the honor of having dinner with me this evening?"

He waggled the flowers at Noel who in turn bobbled (but eventually recovered) the cup. he said dinner like dinner. Like there was extra meaning than just food. That and the flowers...

She took a brief moment to consider. He was serious. At least he wasn't lying. He looked... happy?

And she... she had just gotten out of the shower and was dressed in nothing more than her sports bra and cargo shorts. Her hair was still damp and unbraided, just barely trailing the floor behind her. She hadn't expected to be going anywhere. Especially not dinner.

"Definitely. I'd like that, but, uhm I'll go change?"

She eyeballed what the unicorn man was wearing and tried to think through what she had on hand that might compare.

What did one wear to date a god?

Noel's attire was unexpected to say the least.

In nearly any era, in nearly any country, she'd be considered practically naked right now. Being a modern girl, however, she didn't seem at all shy about showing off most of her skin in front of another person. At least she had the sense not to go out like that. Not that she didn't look good. Because she definitely did. It was just that... just that... well people might stare. Not that he was staring. But other people might. And then he'd have to gouge their eyes out. Which might ruin their dinner.

"Yes, that might be for the best. You wouldn't want to get cold."

Sebastian swallowed, then added, "I'll just put these in water for you."

That gave him an excuse to politely look away while she went to find something with a bit more fabric to put on. Not that he minded the way she... but this was Noel. He was supposed to be her protector. Her roommate and her swordmaster. He hadn't had such impolite thoughts about her since they had first met, before he really knew who she was. Where were such thought coming from?

Maybe that was the source of his problem. When was the last time he'd been able to actualize such thoughts? Last time he'd seen Lori had been last summer? Had it really been that long? No wonder he was feeling out of sorts.

A date was, perhaps, exactly what was needed.

He found a vase, which wasn't quite the right size but seemed like it might be the only option, and filled it with water from the tap humming all the while. His tail swished across the floor and encountered a puddle. He looked down. More a trail than a puddle actually, potentially from Noel's long hair. That would never do. Someone could slip.

The unicorn man put the half arranged flowers aside and grabbed for a towel, going down on his hands and knees to sop up the liquid, still humming. A tune from the Baroque era, Telemann perhaps.

Noel was willing to accompany him on a date. He was feeling better already.

'He isn't dressed up any more than usual.' Noel's hand gravitated toward her jeans. 'But he brought flowers.' She pushed a few things aside in her closet and went for the lesser used items of clothing. The dresses.

Black. Was that depressing? He was wearing tweed, though. Short white frock? Was that sending "the wrong message?" "Gods, I hate being a girl." She closed her eyes and grabbed one.

It took her longer than she wanted, but probably less time than most other women would have taken. She took refuge in that idea.

"Sorry. Haven't been on a date in a while." Noel immediately regretted saying it, but there it was. She could start being embarrassed now. "Er-hum." She cleared her throat, clearly self-conscious. "Right. Ready to go?"

Noel had put on makeup. Not a lot, just something to make her lips look wet and draw attention to her eyes. She'd left her hair down and dried it as much as she could before twisting a few pieces back into a barrette to keep it out of her face. The dress was lilac, silky and long sleeved. The hem wasn't much longer than the sleeves, but she'd put on dark stockings to keep it from being indecent. The shoes she'd debated about the longest, but in the end she chose heels in order to keep her hair from dragging.

"Will I need my sword?" Because there wasn't really a good place to put it. She could, however, fit a gun into this teeny tiny little purse she had.

Sebastian looked up from wiping the floor as Noel reentered the room. His view started at the shoes. High heels meant that she'd be a taller than him, but he had gotten over that particular vanity centuries ago. Then legs that seemed to go on forever, covered only in the thinnest of stockings. Sexy, by any time period's standards. Her skirt was short. Even shorter from this vantage point. Her silky dress clung to her in just the right ways, like a Grecian goddess.

"I should have brought you with me to Wisconsin."

He hadn't actually meant to say that. He meant it, he just hadn't meant it to be out loud. It had been eons since he had misspoken and had to make a fumbling recovery.

"You look lovely."

Gods, that was even worse in combination with the other comment. It would have been fine if he had said only that, but now he was certain he sounded like a raging lust monster. How had he completely forgotten how to speak to a woman?

He averted his gaze to the floor and took a moment to wipe one last little bit of water away from the floor, put the towel back on the rack, and straighten his jacket and bow tie before trying to speak again.

"A sword? You'd be the very picture of Athena then, short only a shield with a gorgon's head on it. I'll bring two, just in case, if it would make you feel better."

That was slightly better. Now to be gentlemanly, and perhaps she would forgive him for his gaffs. He opened the door for her and offered his arm.

"Shall we?"

"Should have." Noel confirmed in a teasing tone, though her thinking was not at all in line with the immortal's. She had just wanted a change of scenery.

Noel tried to take the compliment in stride, but it only made her more self-conscious. She knew the dress would ride if she wasn't careful, that the hose was thin where the heel of her shoe rubbed, and countless other stupid girl worries. His compliment was not intended to make her think of those things, but it did.

She thanked him anyway.

"You can just bring one unless you think there will be trouble." Of course, just in saying that she was inviting trouble.

> "Shall we?"

"We shall."

When he offered his arm, Noel accepted. When he hailed a cab and held the door for her, she didn't make a big deal about it. But when he told the driver where they were going, she caught his sleeve. "Isn't that an expensive place? Trendy Celebrity chef and a million forks and all that?" It was her way of giving him an out. They didn't have to go to a fancy pants dinner even if it was dinner dinner.

By the time they pulled up to the restaurant, Noel was feeling decidedly nervous. The Fish Bowl was fancy with an audience. Large plate glass windows bowed out slightly into the sidewalk magnifying the diners within. As if the million forks weren't intimidating enough. Now she would have passers by noticing how her hosiery bunched and when she dropped food on herself.

"Have you been here before?" Noel felt compelled to cling to Sebastian like a life preserver. He, at least, wouldn't judge her here.

“It got very complimentary reviews in the newspaper,” the unicorn man answered. He had not been here before. It looked very nice, though the windows were a little on the strange side. The bowed glass gave him a bit of a headache to look at. The diners within were all dressed to the nines. For once this century, he actually felt a little under dressed.

He didn't even have to hold the door to the restaurant, as the Fish Bowl employed someone specifically for that purpose. How nice. It left him free to guide Noel into the restaurant with a gentle hand around her. She was clinging, which Sebastian took as a positive indicator for the evening. He pulled her a little closer. Her hair was still a little damp, but smelled very nice.

“Mmm, smells good enough to eat,” like a field of strawberries and clover. The restaurant food smelled alright, too, of course.

He was actually a little saddened when they were finally seated; it meant there was an entire table between the two of them and Noel couldn't mold herself to his side nearly so easily anymore. He held Noel's chair for her (he wasn't about to let some young waiter usurp that privilege from him) and risked giving her a quick kiss on the cheek after she settled into the seat.

“I'm so glad you came with me tonight Noel. I feel as though we should have done this ages ago.”

They really, really should have. It had taken him this long to realize the potential of an actual relationship with Noel that went further than student or roommate, one that also wasn't just a shallow one night thing. In none of his memories were there women that could be both friend and something more, quite possibly because Noel was one of the first women he respected enough to consider a friend. Maybe it could work. You never knew.

>“Mmm, smells good enough to eat,”

"That's the idea, right?" She tried to tease in a casual way. Yeah. Dinner casual.

Noel trailed along behind Sebastian like a wooden pull toy. This was surreal. She tried to take notice of the exits, the walkways, the kitchen and the restrooms because the necessity of a quick exit seemed like a very real possibility.

They sat, Noel pulled her hair over her shoulder to keep from sitting on it and to avoid anyone stepping on it and also to keep the surprise from making her do something suspicious when he kissed her. Because he did. Don't think she didn't notice.

She tried to rationalize. Yeah, they'd slept on the same mattress when they'd been down on their respective lucks, but it was innocent. There hadn't been anywhere else to go. Sebastian was trustworthy. He was real. This wasn't some skeezy stranger. This was her swordmaster and she was his shadow. Her place was by him. This was natural. A perfect extension of what they already had. She was the only one feeling weird about it so she tried not to feel weird about it. Because it wasn't weird.

She hadn't thought about how many people there might be around. Of the tables around them, not many were telling full truths. So far it wasn't anything dinner ruining. She could handle this. Maybe. Probably.

He had the swords, right? Noel craned her neck to check and... Right. She could see the hilts reflecting light from the dim overhead halogens. With Sebastian across the table, her lifesaver and her usual comfort objects were all just out of reach. She tried to relax anyway. If she was going to do this, she was going to do this right.

"If you hadn't asked, I don't think I would have thought that way about us. You're an attractive man, a god even. It's not my natural..." She floundered to find the right words. She just didn't think that way. "I don't take a lot of chances with this kind of thing. And People who know me, who know what I can do... I don't want to be a burden." Like an Alzheimer's patient. But Sebastian had never treated her that way. That earned him some good, solid eye contact. She wasn't ashamed of what she was saying. It was the truth.

"It's nice to be appreciated." Any girl who owned heels wanted on some level to be appreciated.

The waiter? steward? porter? garçon? maitre d'? came by for their drink orders. Noel didn't want anything alcoholic so she ordered something called a long island iced tea off the short fancy drink menu.

Noel was quiet for a moment as he sat down, but not strangely so, she had hair and skirts and such that needed adjusting. When she did start speaking, though, she sounded a little flustered. Sebastian frowned ever so slightly at first, thinking that this was certainly going to end in rejection, but then it didn't. She was more worried about being a burden to him than anything else.

Sebastian ordered hot tea and waited for the waiter to wander away again before speaking.

“Noel,” he spoke softly and reached across the table to hold her hand in his own before meeting her gaze, “You could never be a burden to me. I-,” it was his turn to flounder a bit, thinking of how to say this exactly right, “When I was gone, I thought about it a lot. I missed you. I- I've never felt that way about anyone before. I've never fallen in love before. I-”

He trailed off, pulling his hand back into his lap to fiddle with his napkin nervously beneath the table. He'd used the word “love” and it felt strange on his tongue. Was this love? This longing feeling, with an added protectiveness felt much more permanent than anything he'd ever felt towards a woman before.

“Noel, I think I'm in love with you.”

He put his hand over hers. It was warm and dry and she wanted to believe his words so much. She just... wasn't sure that he was sure. Maybe it was the deceitful pollution of so many half-truths flying around the tables near them. It didn't help the quiet panic that was bubbling inside of her.

Noel tried to examine what she was feeling very carefully. She was glad. Really, she was. She was also worried. Anxious. Terrified. Sebastian was a safe harbor. This made him less safe somehow. "I missed you too... but it scares me to be dependent on anyone else. If I forgot, would I know what I was missing? Would you be there for me? The first time, sure, but the fifth? The fiftieth? What if I change?" Honesty was the best policy here.

And was this love? She did love him, but was that the same as being in love? "I think I've got my head all backwards about what love actually is... movies, you know?" She squeezed his hand and drew it away.

She was saved further confessional embarrassment by the waiter arriving with the drinks. Hot tea for Sebastian and cold for Noel. She took a sip and it was strong and super sweet. Blech. "Would it be... okay? If I loved you?" That was all she wanted to know.