Hi,
Your profile looks really interesting, and I don't really care when it comes to appearance, so I was wondering if you'd want to go on a date around four? We can grab a bite to eat, see a movie, or just hang out. Look forward to meeting you,

Chloe Willows

Manfish sat on a bench in the park, at broad daylight, waiting for his date. Glancing over her profile, she looked a good deal younger than himself, but a guy like him really didn't go around putting a limit on his dates, or setting high standards. When you have a literal fish-face, you take what you can get. Besides, she was good looking. Albeit, maybe a little too good looking. Probably another aspiring comedian wanting to try out her vast array of unoriginal fish jokes. But, he hadn't backed out on a date yet, and he wasn't about to start today.

His outfit of choice today was a dark green, shorty-style wet suit, topped by a brown trench-coat. It was casual, yet still looked pretty good, and totally not stalker-esque. Not at all. 

He looked at the clock on his phone. 3:57. Hopefully this wasn't another one of those stand-up girls, in any sense of the word.

Chloe was walking around the park looking for where her date would be sitting. Once she spotted him, she was walking up in the direction behind Dr. Fishman and saw that he was glancing over her profile. She wondered what he thought of her and had hoped that he hadn't judged her and thought that she was too good for him. She was a bit nervous, not because of meeting someone that is mostly fish, but because she was meeting someone so intelligent and profound in his area of study.

She took some deep breaths and calmed her nerves and slowly walked up behind him quietly. She tapped him on the shoulder and said "I see you're checking out my profile. Am I really that interesting to look at? Cause I totally thought your dissertation on Evolutionary Advancement into Human Mutations was way more interesting than anything I have on my profile. I guess I don't necessarily have to introduce myself now, do I? Though should I call you Dr. Fishman or is Caleb alright?"

He had to admit, her profile was rather interesting, though he also had to had to admit...she was more than likely way out of his league. But...at least he had a date with her. If it didn't end in a total disaster or with her tossing around mean and/or lame jokes. 

He jumped when he heard talking, because...to be honest he wasn't paying much attention. She was machine-gunning her statements, but...he had to say it made him happy that she'd actually read his work. It was...refreshing. Maybe this would work, and she was more into his brain than his...fish face...

"Yes, you are that interesting to look at, Chloe," he replied with his usual deep, silky smooth voice. "I'm happy you're familiar with my work, and you can call me whatever you want, as long as you don't call me dinner," he said, ending his remarks with a joke and a fishy-faced smile.

Chloe blushed as she heard him say she was interesting to look at and smiled as she realized that she had impressed him. Chloe was a nerd and loved to read new science breakthroughs and innovations being made so she was constantly keeping up with new techniques and topics. To be honest, she was quite excited to maybe see some of his other research and to learn marine biology from him as well.

She sat next to him on the park bench and laughed as he says not to call him dinner. She bit her lip subtly and smirks as she says to him, "I wouldn't call you dinner, but maybe I would call you my after dinner sweets, if you'll let me. But we're on a date, so I'd really like to know you better and find out what you'd like to do on this date that would make your night worth while."

He quirked a brow at her response. Well he would have, if he'd had eyebrows, instead it was just a funny look with his solid black eyes that made his goggle-glasses go crooked for a moment. He was trying to figure out...was she serious? Or was this all a sick joke? Then again...no one reads a thesis as part of a joke, no matter how elaborate. Did they? The good Doc Fishman wasn't so keen on kids these days and their jokes.

"We'll have to see how it goes. That...isn't something that usually comes up," he replied with a wink. "Well, I'm a simple man, really. We can sit and talk in the park, drop by a cafe, whatever makes you happy, I'm game for." He looked at her, studying her facial features, her body language.

He was looking for any sort of hint as to whether she was serious or whether she was pulling his nonexistent tailfin. But...either way, he figured he'd play along as long as she wanted to. Besides, the little bit of adult humor was kind of...refreshing.

Chloe smiled and nodded her head. She was completely serious about their after dinner entertainment. She already liked the guy when she read his dissertation, but the like was falling in depth more now that she got to see him and as she would get to know him. She liked simple. She had had a complicated relationship with Paige and it didn't exactly make it easy for her. Maybe Caleb would take love as actual love and no overthink everything about why she would do things for him. That is if he decides to actually call her back for another date and she doesn't ruin the one she's on. He was more than just a fish mutant to her. She was really liking his brain and thought that if he really was all that he seemed to be, then she knew that she would fall in love with him.

"We can sit here and talk for a while and find out more about each other, just you and me. Then we can go to a more social place and have some fun and maybe find some food along the way. I'm not a hard woman to please. I like simple. So what kind of research are you working on now? I'm kind of a big nerd despite my appearances. I love reading science journals and keeping updated on the latest breakthroughs. And a bit more of a personal question if I may ask it. What kind of affection do you like to receive or give? Do you like to be affectionate a lot or is it more of a 'I like to be affectionate only during a few occasions? And you can be as open about questions for me as well. I don't wanna be a chatterbox. I want you to learn about me too." She smiled at him and looked at him in his solid black eyes and smiled at his soul. He was a person just like anyone else. She saw him through his heart and mind, not through his outer appearance.

She truly was an...interesting individual. But it was quite refreshing, a break from the norm, which...to be honest mostly sucked.

"Well, I'm not really working on anything in particular right now," he lied, not wanting to tell her that she was part of his research at the moment. He liked that she claimed to be a nerd, and that she was interested in more intellectual things in life. But the affection question...threw him off.

"To be honest...I don't know. Affection is something that I'm sort of a stranger to. I mean...look at me," he replied sadly.

"To change the subject, I teach biology at the Mansion, as of recently, and I volunteer at the local aquarium once a week." The fish-man paused for a moment, thinking.

"So, what kinds of things are you into? What do you like? I mean, you don't seem to be turned off by the giant fish in a wetsuit sitting next to you, so...whatever you want to tell me about yourself, I'll match with a reply of my own." He smiled softly, relaxing a bit as his whiskers twitched in the wind a little.

Someone was a bit of a smoker. But he didn't care too much.

Chloe nodded her head at him as he told her about not having any research at the moment, but her face lit up when he talked about teaching and volunteering at the aquarium. "I love biology. There are so many topics that can be learned about and its so diverse as to all the research that can be done. And I love aquariums. I'd love to go with you sometime. I always wondered what it would be like to swim with the fish and creatures in the aquariums."

She smiled as she decided to try something, somewhat affectionate. She reached over to Caleb and put her hand on top of his and squeezed slightly. She then looked to his face for acceptance or discomfort to know whether she should keep her hand there or not. She decided to move on to the rest of the conversation and tell him more about her.

"I like to read, obviously. But I love more than just educational journals. I like mystery novels and fiction and older classic novels as well. I love more rock styled music, but I also love classical and more modern instrumental music also. I think that guys who are intelligent are incredibly sexy and I'd a really laid back kinda girl. I like to go out on the town every now and then, but I also like to just relax at home and watch movies and eat popcorn. I like cuddling and going for swims whenever I can. I'm not really into very sappy romancey movies, but I will watch one on the rare occasion when my hormones make me somewhat emotional. I have a brother that I didn't even know I had until recently and my dad left me when I was little and then later when I was a teenager, my mom left me. The only thing I have left of hers is my necklace. I didn't even know I was a mutant until I was about 12. Would you like to see what kind of mutant I am?"

He smiled in his weird fish-like manner as she spoke. She was honestly quite attractive, and an open book. He still had his doubts, as this seemed a little too good to be true, but he was going to go along anyway. Not just for science, but what could it hurt, right? "Biology is my passion, as are other things. Most of my time is spent studying, or enhancing my mind, but in my younger days, I was a wrestler. I couldn't compete legally because my mutation was deemed an unfair advantage, but I still got to practice and help the other guys train."

He blinked as he felt something on his hand. It felt...odd, yet somehow, comfortable. His beady black eyes looked down through his goggle-glasses. Oh...it was her hand. He listened to her talk about herself, and what she liked.

"I prefer more along the lines of soft rock, classic rock, jazz, classical, blues...smoother stuff. It helps me to relax better." He snorted quietly when she said brains were sexy. Maybe they were, but not when they were in the head of a giant talking fish. "I found out around thirteen, myself. The first thing to go was my vision, and then slowly but surely, I became the man you see today. And I'd be glad to, if you're willing to show me that is." He looked at her curiously.

Butterfly smiled as he discussed helping his teammates train for wrestling despite his mutation and thought it was absolutely wonderful and was glad that some music in common. She heard him snort and knew that he was doubting himself because of his looks, but at least she could make him laugh.

She listened as he talked about his mutation experience and she then described hers. As she was speaking to him, she began to shift into her butterfly form."The first thing that started to happen was that this design of wings began to form on my back. It looked like I had a tattoo at 12. And I used to get picked on a lot because I wasn't very rich and had clothes from thrift stores to wear. Kids used to chase me home after school and one day I was running away and then I just changed and no one knew where I went. I didn't even know what happened to me. I only understood after I saw my reflection in a window."

Butterfly began to flutter around him and around his face and then rested on his lap. "And this is why I love biology so much. It really awoke my passion when I saw what I could do. I wanted to learn all the diverse and complex topics that biology could teach me. It was amazing to me."

Manfish listened as she spoke, watching in awe as she began to shift into a butterfly. Even her mutation was amazing, and his was...well, what you saw was what you got with him. Everything about this young woman intrigued him, but more than anything was the fact that she was interested in him, and still wanted to be with him despite him being mostly fish in appearance. No other woman had given him the time of day after she'd laid eyes on him. Sure, he'd gotten some friendships out of the ordeal, but...that wasn't the same. 

"That's just how it works. People are going to set themselves apart and judge others or set themselves on a pedestal. Someone always has to be lower," he said sadly, eyeing the butterfly as she fluttered around him and landed on his lap. 

"I was never really picked on in school, even though by the time I was sixteen, I was pretty much what you see before you. My friends and I were still close, my parents were supportive, but beyond that, I understand how you feel. I was ridiculed by those who didn't know me, and I had to work extra hard to get where I am. Even finding a date is more difficult."

He sighed sadly. "But, these things are here to teach us something."

Chloe shifts back into her human-self and is still in his lap after shifting. She looks into his eyes lovingly. "You might have had to work extra hard, but you found me. I haven't exactly been well versed in the dating scene either. It seems I have a tendency to be overly affectionate and was with someone who didn't particularly care for it."

Her heart was beating very rapidly in her chest. Caleb was so deep and she knew that what she was about to do would probably be considered very forward, but to her this was a way to just know that their chemistry would work. Their biology would come later if she got lucky. Chloe put her hands on either side of his face and leaned her head close to him and kissed him on his mouth. She didn't mind his fish mouth, but it was the spark of the physical contact between them that made her sure that she loved him.

He nodded, listening intently as she spoke, and he nodded. It felt sort of weird when she shifted back. It was okay when a butterfly was on his lap, but it was different when there was a human on his lap. Especially a female. Especially one as good looking as her.

"Yeah, it's hard trying to find the right person, especially when your physical appearance is seen as a disadvantage," he replied. His solid black eyes peered through his glasses to meet with her blue ones as he finished speaking, and he just sat there in silence.

...Holycrap she kissed him. That was...not part of the plan. Was it even okay to kiss on the first date? Actually they hadn't even had their date yet. His mind was racing, but he didn't object. He kissed her back, despite some of the gasps and remarks from passers-by.

Nothing really seemed to matter. In fact, he was still doing his best to remind himself that this was real, and actually happening. If this was some sort of sick joke, then...she was really committed, that's for sure.

"I uh...wow..." he stammered once the kiss broke. One good thing about his appearance: Fish can't blush.

Chloe blushed and smiled at Caleb. "I hope I wasn't been too forward. I just had to know what that was like. Kissing the person who's mind you've fallen in love with. Now I can say that I really like every part of you. Mind, Body, and Soul." She didn't wanna say love in front of him just yet. It might scare him away. But she could feel herself nerding out over the feelings she was having for him.

"Let's go get a bite to eat. What do you think about Chinese food? Or would you wanna go somewhere a bit more formal with a nice dinner and a glass of wine?"

Chloe hoped that she hadn't made things awkward for him on their first date. Well, pre-first date. She secretly started to beat herself up for being so forward with him.

Fallen in love with? They'd just met. But then again, what would Manfish know about love? Love was one of those weird things that was just out of reach of being supported by science. And love at first sight was closer to a Greek myth than reality. Or...was it? What was for sure, though, was that she'd seemed to have fallen head over heels for him already, and...well, to be honest he may or may not have found himself quickly following her.

"I haven't had Chinese in a long time," he said softly, once he'd finally gathered his thoughts. "But I haven't had anything fancy in awhile either..."

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close for awhile before leaning in and kissing her again. He didn't know why, he just...enjoyed the feeling. Pulling away, he looked at her with a weird smile.

"I'm feeling fancy," he finally said after breaking the silence.