The restaurant was pretty dead honestly. It was pretty late in the afternoon though. Sarah hoped that the less people would make the meeting with her friend less awkward. The last time she had spoken with Juliette... It had been a while.

The plans they had made were pretty vague back in August. The holidays were coming up and they both knew it would be a bit before they could meet again. The two women texted plenty over the holiday season.

Now both women were free enough to meet. Instead of just meeting at a park or cafe like they did a lot, they had went with a lunch date. Italian food was what Sarah had been craving at the time so here she was, waiting on her friend to get here.

Hopefully nothing had come up at the school. Sarah was really looking forward to learning about Juliette's man.

Juliette had managed to catch a ride into the city at the best possible time. There was a teacher that needed some supplies, and with a little bit of pleading, she had scored the front seat. Right in time for her planned meeting with Sarah.

She entered the restaurant, combing her windswept hair over to one side, and looked around for her friend. She spotted her near the back, and went straight past the hostess to join her.

“Hey,” Juliette greeted with a smile. “It’s been a while! How are you?” They’d texted over the holidays, but they hadn’t seen each other since the summer. Man, did she have a lot to tell her.

She took the seat across from her and scanned over the menu, glad that Sarah had had a hankering for Italian food. It smelled amazing.

Sarah spotted Juliette as she moved past the hostess. The artist couldn't help but chuckle at her friend. She should probably feel bad for the woman, since she was just trying to do her job, but watching Juliette just made her laugh. Her laughter lasted until her dark haired friend was getting into her own seat at the table.

“Hey. It’s been a while! How are you?”

"Hey, Jules. I'm good. Been busy getting ready for the spring show. How about yourself?"

Before they could get any further than that, the waiter arrived. "Good afternoon, ladies. My name is John and I'll be your server today. Are we celebrating anything today?"

“What’s so funny?” Juliette asked as she sat down, turning her head around to look at the hostess. Something had apparently made Sarah laugh, but she wasn’t sure exactly what it was.

She had opened her mouth to respond to Sarah’s question, but was immediately interrupted by the waiter. "Good afternoon, ladies. My name is John and I'll be your server today. Are we celebrating anything today?"

“Yes, a birthday,” Juliette smiled and nodded toward her friend. Her birthday had been the week before, sure, but they were celebrating it then, and she would be dammed if Sarah wasn’t going to get her free cake.

“Congratulations!” John enthused and then continued on with his memorized spiel. “Our specials today are the Arrancini and Vongole. Can I get you ladies started with some drinks first, though?”

“I’ll just get a water, please,” Juliette ordered and then looked to Sarah.

Sarah sent a bit of a glare to her friend. They did not make these plans for her birthday. Unfortunately she couldn't do anything about it now.

"Water for me as well, please," she answered after Juliette. The waiter smiled and made his way to get their drinks. "Did you have to say something about my birthday? Really? And I was laughing because of the look on the hostess' face as you passed her."

The artist opened her menu then to see what caught her eye. The smell of the place was making her hungry and there were all sorts of pictures that caught her eye. What had John said were the specials? Arancini and Vongole? Fried stuffed rice bowls and clam? Now was that separate or clam stuffed rice balls? The green eyed woman didn't much have a taste for clam.

"So, anything catch your eye?" she asked her friend.

Juliette grinned at Sarah from across the table. She figured that her feathers would be a little ruffled by Juliette telling the waiter that it had just been her birthday, but she’d done it anyway. What were birthdays for, if not for getting free things from businesses. “Sorry, but it had to be done. Now you’ll get free cake, though!”

She scanned the menu, seeing lots of things that would make a for great meals. It was a very extensive menu. “Yeah… I think I’m going to get the ravioli.”

She bit her lip for a second and tried to see where the waiter was with the drinks. After seeing that he was still working with a few other tables, she set her menu down in front of her and leaned forward with a grin. “Alright, so real talk time. How’s life? How’s the art show going?”

>>“Sorry, but it had to be done. Now you’ll get free cake, though!”

Sarah rolled her eyes and muttered, just loud enough for her friend to hear. "And you'll of course want me to share."

Ravioli. Apparently they were both wanting things that were more than they seemed. The artist wondered what the meant about them. If she were inclined to psychology, she might know, but probably best she didn't.

>>“Alright, so real talk time. How’s life? How’s the art show going?”

Sarah giggled a bit at how eager Juliette looked. Then again it had been several months. "Life is life. Neither good nor bad all told. The show's good. I've gotten a few requests from different galleries to show pieces now. Which, yay, more chances to sell." Which meant Sarah wasn't having to worry about bills and could splurge a little. Hmmm, might have to see if Juliette wanted to go shopping after lunch. That could be fun. "Found some old sketches from when I first moved to New York, so there's that. Now, enough about me," she leaned forward in mimicry of her friend, "Tell me about you."

"And you'll of course want me to share."

"Only if you feel so inclined," Juliette grinned cheekily. She didn't need some of the cake, and that definitely wasn't why she had told the waiter about Sarah's birthday, but she wouldn't say no if she was going to be offered some. It was cake, after all. She couldn't exactly say no. 

"Hmm, well, I moved into the mansion. I was working with the healer there for a while, but it's been a bit redundant, so I've been teaching health and sex-ed classes for some of the students. Then, I've been sorting some paperwork for my boyfriend with this adorable little mansion girl.

"Oh- I told you about the guy I've been seeing, right? Sam?" Juliette asked. Their line of texts had been long and thorough, but she couldn't quite remember what she had and hadn't told her, or how in-depth she had gone with it. 

Mansion, she knew that one. Sarah had been aware of the move since it would mean less opportunity for them to meet up.

>>"...been teaching health and sex-ed classes..."

Sarah did not hold back her snort of laughter. Her friend was gorgeous and the idea of teenaged boys having to hear about sex-ed from the attractive woman... Highlight of her day. The brunette remembered how awkward her brother had been when their parents had given him The Talk. Highlight of the year.

>>"Oh- I told you about the guy I've been seeing, right? Sam?"

She hummed and smirked at her friend. "Guy who was bleeding on the floor of the ER and thought he could let someone else go before him. Also helped with the hospital hold up because you had his number. That guy?" Oh yes, Sarah had heard plenty about the guy. Even before the two of them apparently got together.

"Guy who was bleeding on the floor of the ER and thought he could let someone else go before him. Also helped with the hospital hold up because you had his number. That guy?"

"That's the one," Juliette nodded. She wasn't quite sure how much more to expand on the subject, if she was being honest with herself. She wasn't used to being in one place for a long enough time to build meaningful relationships. Usually, she just moved and tried to insert herself into the life of whatever place she was in next. However, it seemed like the New York area was looking more and more permanent, and she quite liked Sarah. It felt alright to go into more detail.

"It was a little weird when I moved into the mansion, but it turned out alright. We're actually only two doors down, which is... Anyway. He wants serious, which, I don't know, I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but it seems to be going alright for the most part. He's got a crazy history, though. Crazy. Oh, and an eye-patch!" She still wasn't quite sure why Sam wouldn't let go of that one part of himself, but she had stopped questioning it. 

Sarah blinked. "You live two doors down from a pirate?" She couldn't keep back the giggles. "And don't think I don't know what you and your pirate get up to."

Eye-patch. Ha! Halloween must have been fun. Sarah was starting to paint (figuratively) a picture of the man her friend was dating. A fighter connected with the police, mutant since he was at the Mansion and Sarah knew that much, wanted a serious relationship with her friend, and had an eye-patch.

Why did some of the sound familiar? "How serious is he? I mean, going steady or meet the family?"

After letting Juliette tell her the answer, Sarah had another question. "What's his thing again?" though she kept it vague as she saw John coming back with their drinks.

Juliette blushed a little, but she didn't deny anything. She wasn't, however about to fill in any details.

"Two proposals and a meet the family. I turned down the proposals, obviously. It's crazy early and I'm not even close to ready for that kind of commitment. He has an adopted eighteen-year-old son, who I met at Thanksgiving. He's got almost as much baggage as Sam does. That meeting... was a strange experience. Too awkward to even explain. But you get the idea." She ran her hands through her hair, remembering the experience that had been Thanksgiving. 

"What's his thing again?"

"Ice pirate. Sam Johnson, aka Cold Steel," Juliette answered her and then turned to John as he arrived. He set their waters down in front of them, and then got out his order pad.

"What can I get for you ladies?"

"I'll take the ravioli," Juliette told him and then let Sarah order. 

Ice pirate that apparently really wanted to marry her friend. Huh. "What is the Aracini stuffed with?" she asked.

"There are several options of beef, chicken, lobster, and clam that our kitchen offers."

"Hm, beef, please."

"Alright. Anything else I can get you ladies?"

Sarah shook her head. Ice and eye-patch with police connections. And finally a name. Which actually sounded like someone she had met. Once John was gone, she would ask. But how to do it? Most memorable part of that encounter? Ice skating without skates and in the air.

"Well, so long as he doesn't get pushy on you, I don't think you have much to worry about. But, question, does he do an ice trick like Frozone from Incredibles?" Sarah could no longer watch that movie without thinking 'I've done that' when Frozone was skating.

"That'll be good, thank you," Juliette smiled at John and handed away her menu. He didn't seem like he was going to stick around for longer than they needed him to. She figured that the obvious girl-talk going on warned him not to overstay his welcome. 

"So far, he's not pushy. I think I'm safe." He'd been eager, but not pushy. A bit like a golden retriever. 

"But, question, does he do an ice trick like Frozone from Incredibles?"

Frozone... That was the character from the incredibles. The one that lost his super suit. Juliette tried to remember exactly what had happened in that movie and if Sam could do any of it. Her eyes lit up with recognition suddenly as she thought of the connection.

"Oh, yeah, actually. I remember him saying something about an ice slide. I've never actually seen him do it though. Why?" It seemed a little strange that she would ask a question so specific. 

Sarah couldn't help herself. She burst into giggles after Juliette confirmed her suspicion. She could barely get any air into her lungs though which led to a strange silent laugh thing.

Gasping, she tried to explain her reaction to her friend. "I..." More giggles. "...met him..." Gasping as she finally calmed her laughter enough to just the occasional snort, the brunette took a drink of her water. "It was... I'd say three, almost four, years ago. But yeah, we met. I've done the slide thing too." Another burst of laughter left her lips.