Sam smirked as they were walking to the next stop of the date, his hand dangling a few centimeters away from where he thought hers were, his fingers occasionally twitching backward in hopes to make some contact. He however would never admit to it. His unspoken relationship with Athena had been good so far and not a lot of things were running as smoothly for him. Meaning he didn’t want to blow it by trying to hold her hand. ”You’re telling me throughout all the things you’ve done in your life all the places you’ve been. There was never an ice rink?” Sam gave her a mock falling motion and waved his arms about before letting out another small laugh.

”Really though you made some excellent progress, you are now sort of capable of standing and even scooting on the ice a hundred feet before falling.” Sam gave her a playful grin before stopping at the crosswalk when it turned red. Sam’s eye shifted up to the street sign then looked for the building he was planning on taking her. It wasn’t anyplace fancy just a pool hall that was slowly turning into a bar where people played less pool and danced more. It wasn’t his favorite kind of place but it was in walking distance from the ice rink that Sam had brought them to.

Pointing towards the bar with a giant neon mug Sam looked back to Athena, ”That’s the place, not as great as it once was but…” Sam shrugged and quoted Bob Dylan, “The times area changing.” he lowered his arm and then explained a bit further, ”New management, likes to keep it.” Sam raised his fingers up and made the quote sign, ”Fresh.” Sam shook his head, ”Think I used that in the write way.” he looked back to Athena and then smirked again. ”I think after the traumatizing experience you just had you need a drink.” Sam nodded his head and started to walk when the light changed.

Athena was well aware of where Sam's hand was but she was too busy frowning playfully at him to take it.

"My parents liked to stay one step ahead of the snow. Until I came here for that last year of high school I hadn't even seen the stuff, much less ice skated."

She rolled her eyes at his mimicry of her and hip checked him.

"Well lets give you wings and see if you can fly right off the bat. Then we'll talk, hot stuff."

As they stood on the corner Athena leaned against Sam. Despite her utter failure to skate she'd had a good time and Sam was decent enough to try and teach her. With a few more dates there she just might be able to skate on her own. Whatever they had was going pretty well so far. She might even keep this guy.

"Well as long as they've got decent drinks I think I can forgive them for daring to mess with the ambiance. After all, I did just endure a whole lot of trauma and some hurtful heckling."

By the end Athena was barely keeping a smirk off her face. Drinks did sound good.

Sam was reluctant to move when the light changed due to Athena leaning on him but didn’t make that much of a fuss when they started to move again unfortunately there wouldn’t be any other cross walks for them to stop at. Sam let out a silent sigh and then scoffed at her comment about the hurtful heckling, ”Says the women that stabbed me in the neck.” Sam said under his breath loud enough for her to hear before giving her his usual playful smirk when ever he mentioned her stabbing him, something that he didn’t really think was that big of a deal anymore after they had been spending more and more time together. He really had been enjoy her company and her ability to put up with his… Sam-ness (something he heard from one of the professors from the mansion).

Once they were across the street and a few buildings away from the bar he was taking her to he shifted his eye back towards her, ”Seriously!?!? No snow?” he was about to joke about a deprived childhood but when he thought about it he decided he might have her beat there. He knew her family ran into some trouble which was the cause of her moving to New York, but he didn’t think she had it that bad, at least from what she told him. ”and you mentioned wings…” Sam added before taking a step away to face her.

He looked her up and down once he was stationary, then started to walk again smirking. ”You’re really an angel aren’t you? Is that your ability?” Sam asked trying to gently pry an answer out of her. He still had no idea what she could do. He knew she was a mutant and he had been curious about that fact but made sure never to pry too much he always figured he’d guess right eventually.

Another building passed and they were in front of the pool hall. Putting a hand on the door Sam looked around and opened the door and sniffed inside, ”Smells fresh?” he asked in a mocking tone secretly hoping the owner was just on the inside of the door.

The neon sign outside didn’t due the pool hall justice, it was flashy and the pool hall, well wasn’t. Not yet at least it was still fairly early into the night and it looked like the ‘DJ’ just walked in. he had some face tattoos and was setting up in the DJ booth elevated over a wooden dance floor. The lights were still fairly low perfect for a pool hall but Sam knew that would change when it was time to get ‘fresh’.

Looking to the bar Sam decided not to wait there for their drinks it was fairly crowded there a handful of guys and even fewer girls meaning he’d just order from the waiter or the waitress who ever was working next to the pool tables which were still fairly vacant. ”Sad no one likes to play anymore.” Sam said shaking his head in slight disbelief as he pointed Athena towards one of the vacant tables. ”They have those at all anywhere you were a kid?” he asked giving her a smirk.

She smirked. He always brought up the needle in the neck. And as such Athena responded as usual.

"I can always save the next one for your butt, if that's what you prefer. And yes, no snow. Not one little snowflake."

Sam was still trying to guess her ability. Athena almost felt bad for him but she'd rather show than tell and that wasn't something best done in public. The most she could do right now would be to show off how far she could turn her head. That usually scared them off though. Sam would probably be ok with it, being a fellow mutant. She smirked a little at his guess.

"No dear, I'm a goddess. Don't tell me you've forgotten that little detail." Athena gave Sam a look and deciding a little teasing was in order, "I'll say this though. My mutation ends up with me naked. Maybe if you can guess correctly I'll even show you."

So little by little they ended up at the pool hall stroke bar. Sam made a snarky comment as they entered the door and Athena took a whiff of her own.

"Smells like every other bar I've been to. Doesn't change very much no matter where you're at. Smoke, booze, and people in varying concentrations."

Athena rolled her eyes at Sam as he asked if she'd seen a pool table before. She waited until she sat down at the table he'd pointed out to answer.

"Yes, though I've never really played and don't know the rules for any of the american games."

When she sat down and told him she wasn’t aware of many rules for American games Sam couldn’t tell if she was messing with him or not. She seemed to match his sarcasm and knack for messing with people pretty well. In fact Sam hadn’t run into someone like her in a long time. He blinked once in response and lowered his eyebrow on her giving her a skeptical look. ”You know I can never tell if you are messing with me or not.” Sam gave he a smirk and sat down opposite her.

A few televisions were on overhead playing the most recent sports games, football, basketball and baseball. Football was the only one Sam would watch really but with his one eye he was afraid it would have been obvious he wasn’t paying attention to the woman before him so he only checked the score before looking to the pool table and gesturing. ”Keep in mind I was –er am a teacher.” Sam said tilting his head to the pool table, ”So by the end of it you should be at least decent enough to play. I mean if I can get you to stand on skates, how hard can it be?” Sam asked smirking as a waiter approached them.

Sam watched as his eyes lingered on Athena for a moment before shifting his attention to Sam, “What can I get for you two?” Sam looked to Athena and shrugged then looked back to the waiter, ”A pitcher of whatever beer is on tap for the night and a round of shots, her choice. I did heckle her pretty bad today she is still recovering.” Sam looked to Athena and gave her a playful smile before standing up from the table and walking a few feet over to the pool table to get everything set up.

Once the waiter nodded after giving Athena a rather long smile Sam looked from him to her, ”So you get naked when your mutation is activated?” Sam asked curiously giving her a small laugh causing half of his mouth to upturn into a grin. ”That because you dislike clothes or you don’t want them to be destroyed?” Sam asked picking up a pool stick and offering it up to her.

She laughed as he admitted he couldn't tell if she was messing with him or not. Athena supposed she was pretty good at playing a straight face when lying.

"It's just part of my charm."

Athena smiled coyly at Sam as he mentioned being a teacher.

"So does that make me hot for teacher or the other way around?"

That particular song was one of the few american tunes that her parents had liked. Mostly because they were both professors. When she was a kid she'd either rolled her eyes when they sang along to it or gagged. It made for a decent enough quip now. Athena ordered a random shot to go with the beer. She didn't really care too much what form the alcohol came in.

No, what she was more interested in was the fact that the waiter was showing obvious interest in her while she was there with Sam. Athena didn't mind, far from it actually. She was somewhat curious how Sam would react to some guy trying to move in on his date. His reaction to her earlier hint made Athena smirk.

"Oh I'm quite comfortable without clothes, sure. But lacking them while using my mutation is mostly a matter of fit. They just slide right off when I do. There's really only a couple of mutation related things I can do that don't result in an abandoned pile of clothes."

Athena had followed Sam over to the pool table and took the stick when offered. Instead of showing off just how lame she was likely to be at pool, Athena twirled the stick as though it were a fighting staff. It'd been awhile since she'd worked with a staff instead of sticks. Athena distinctly preferred sticks but didn't think the bar owners would appreciate it if she broke their pool stick in half.

Once she twirled the pool cue Sam tried not to notice, it seemed she had some training at some point. Sure anyone could twirl a pool cue in their hands but only those who had training could do it with decent hand placement like she just did. It was muscle memory, at least that’s what it looked like to Sam and well he was still technically the teacher of self-defense at the mansion even if all his classes were canceled, he wouldn’t be a very good professor if he couldn’t spot an experienced hand whenever they were showing off. ”Looks like someone had some practice.” Sam said making a quick comment about her use of the pool cue.

”Yes, that makes you hot for teacher. Even if said teacher is cold.” nodding his head Sam approved of her music knowledge and knew exactly what song she was talking about. ”Incidentally one of my favorite songs, not as good as Zeppelin, but still pretty high up there.”

Lone eye fixed on the pyramid of pool balls Sam thought on her mutation a bit more, ‘Wings, and she shrinks at least small enough to lose her clothes…’ he drew a blank at first and then pictured her as a tiny woman with a small yellow halo around her and sprinkling fairy dust everywhere. ”I can’t picture you flying around as Tinkerbelle…” Sam said shaking his head laughing. She seemed sassy enough to play Tinkerbelle but he doubted she turned into something fairy-like.

Sam took a few steps closer to Athena and smiled to her, ”What say we make this game a little more interesting?” Sam asked with a sly grin, ”I mean, I’m usually better with a little playful competition.” Sam leaned in a little closing the distance between the two, ”Winner picks the next date?” he lifted his eyebrow and waited for a response.

Athena nodded and tentatively switched her hold on the stick to something she thought was more conducive to knocking brightly colored balls around a felted table.

"A little. One of mom and dad's friends taught me while my parents did their anthropologist thing."

She neglected to mention that she was much better with sticks than a staff. Sam could find that out the hard way, if he had to at all. She laughed and grinned at Sam admitting that was one of his favorite songs.

"I know the song because of my parents. They loved it. Then again, both college professors." Athena looked Sam up and down, "At least mine is much better looking than the usual teacher fare."

Sam seemed to be a master of coming to the wrong conclusion when it came to her powers. She was left laughing again as he mentioned the possibility of Tinkerbelle.

"No, I'm something larger and more predatory than that little blonde bombshell."

He closed the distance and offered her a wager. Athena quirked an eyebrow. If he wanted to play that game then she would happily oblige. Where he'd stepped in very close, Athena closed the distance between them entirely and pulled Sam in for a kiss. Not quite make out material but definitely a cut above a quick peck on the lips. After a few moments she pulled away grinning.

"You're on."

He opened his eye and found himself stepping back from Athena once the kiss was over. He had almost forgotten she was a little more aggressive than some of the women he was used to dating, almost. In truth he found her ability to go for something she wanted a breath of fresh air. Sam nodded his head slightly stunned after enjoying the semi-short kiss, ”Think I like that answer.” if he didn’t have the stick on the ground holding up his weight he might have stumbled back.

Taking a step back Sam looked to the table and then nodded his head and waved his hand towards the table, ”Ladies first.” implying that she should take the first shot. The waiter came back with the drinks and set them down on the table and then looked to Athena first smiled then to Sam his smile fading, “Anything else I can get for you?” Sam shrugged and looked to Athena his smile still bright even though it was obvious that the waiter was checking Athena out. ”Think we are good with the drinks for now, might grab some food later.” Sam walked over to the table and picked up the shot glasses and offered one to Athena then looked back to the waiter, ”Thanks man.”

The waiter walked off without saying much else. Sam got the feeling the guy didn’t like Sam to much but, eh. Sam shrugged it off and smiled to Athena, ”Cheers, to you and your learning process, make a skater out of you yet.” Sam said with a smile, ”I am a pretty cool teacher after all.” cold puns, something he learned from Shin before the riots and the whole ‘I kidnapped a bunch of kids’ back when they were pretty good friends. It was a hard habit to break, the cold puns.

It seemed that her default expression for the evening was going to be a smile. Athena was well aware of the effect her kiss had on Sam. It wasn't hard to notice that he was leaning on that pool cue a little harder than he normally would. As such she really couldn't help the smirk that settled on her face. Playing with guys like that always amused her. As Sam motioned for her to go first, Athena set up her pool cue and bent over the table probably more than was strictly necessary. Before she could take her shot the waiter arrived with a smile for her and a not so smile for Sam. Instead of straightening up and turning around Athena merely threw a smile over her shoulder in thanks, being careful not to turn her head any further than what was normal.

"Thanks."

Taking the shot Sam handed her, Athena downed it in one quick gulp for taking an experimental shot at the cue ball. The resulting break wasn't particularly good but she'd started the game just the same.

"Your turn, cool guy."

Athena was completely willing to use the cold puns too. They were all too easy if you knew his power but amusing nonetheless. Athena grabbed another shot and leaned against the table. They were good shots but she'd had stronger before so drinking two so quickly was no big thing to her.

Sam watched her bent over the table taking a shot at the cue ball and breaking poorly. He leaned back slightly before she stood up as if it would give him a slightly better view. Sam made sure to straighten up again when she stood up again. Turning to the tray and matching her shot as he followed it up with pouring two beers in the glasses the pitcher of beer came with. Luckily he was sliding home, no law against drinking and sliding. He took a small sip of his beer and walked to the table. ”Not bad for your first shot, but pool is a little like Chess,” Sam was about to lean over but stopped and smirked to her, ”You played chess before right?” trying to add a wink he bent back over the table.

Focusing on the shot he pointed the stick to the white cue ball and focused on the shot in front of him. There was a solid on the verge of going into one of the pockets but he wasn’t aiming for that, he was aiming for a strip that was a lot further from one of the holes. ”Got to see what you can do next before you take the shot.” Sam said trying to explain how to play, ”Normally you’d have to call your shot as well but seeing as you never played with American rules before, I’ll let it slide.” Sam knocked the stick into the cue ball, which knocked into the strip he was aiming at, and the ball rolled the table until it dropped into the hole.

Standing Sam smirked to Athena ”You are solids.” Sam walked around the table and lined up his next shot and missed on purpose this time putting one of his stripes to the corner of a pocket giving Athena a chance to knock one of hers in. ”Hmmmmm… maybe need to add a bit more power to that.” Sam said lowering his brow slightly pretending he was upset. Standing up and walking over to Athena, ”Your move. If you want some pointers feel free to ask.” Sam took another large gulp of his beer.