She gave a little smile towards Charlie, a soft blush on her cheeks. She felt like she would be lost without Charlie – despite her being a relatively crude person, she was still the closest person that she had. She was her best friend, her favorite person. No one else had come close to ruining that. Not to mention, all the butterflies that messed around inside her. She took a deep breath. 

She gave another smile and it sent a little shiver down her back when she felt her hand on her back. “Good, I’m glad. Maybe time traveling will make me immortal too,” she mused playfully. She didn’t really believe that, but hey, no one knew for sure. 

In front of the Chinese place, she wasn’t entirely sure. She carefully looked through the menu, unsure of what to really say. “Um… I quite honestly do not know what most of this is. I will take… The chicken and broccoli.” She nodded a weak confirmation, “I am sure this is the safest option.”

 

Charlie nodded with a bit of a smirk at the idea. She knew very little about time travel, but she did know that it was unlike to work like that. There was very little chance - no matter how much they might've wanted it - that Gwen would live any longer than the average human person. It would be Charlie, all alone, just like it always was. But that didn't mean that she couldn't enjoy a bit of company while she was still there. Less moping, more enjoyment.

"Safe. That's for sure," Charlie scoffed with the slightest quirk of her eyebrows. Safe. But would she really be trying Chinese food? With chicken and broccoli? Charlie could make that for her back at her apartment, easy. That wasn't real Chinese food.

Raising her arm, Charlie signalled for the waitress to come to their table. "Alright, so one order of chicken and broccoli, one order of crispy ginger beef, some Szechuan chicken, some Lo Mein, and... some chicken balls." With a twinkle in her eyes, she stole the menu out of Gwen's hands and gave them both back to the waitress, having ordered more than enough for them both. "Oh, and screw it. Throw in some sake, too. I'll drive home."

The waitress nodded and pocketed the notepad that she'd taken down their order on. After watching her walk away, Charlie leaned forward a little, sticking her elbows on the tabletop. "If we're trying Chinese food, then we're trying Chinese food. The best of it. Whatever we don't eat can be leftovers." A flick of the wrist highlighted her disinterest over the the matter. If it was for something like that, then she didn't mind shelling out a bit of extra cash. Besides, it was worth it to be able to watch Gwen's face as she tried new things.

Gwendolyn liked Charlie, even when she got into a funk. Sure, she was confused with whether she liked her as in she thought she was awesome or if she wanted to spend several nights in a bed with no clothes on with her. Life could get complicated, right?

She blushed at Charlie's reaction to her safe option. It was a safe option. She didn't really know what Chinese food even was or is. Well, she knew it existed but she had never had it. She almost certainly would never had had it in her time. She expected Charlie to take her care of her though - after all, she knew this world like the back of her hand. Heck, she'd been in it for a bit, too.

As Charlie brought the waitress over, Gwen kind of shrunk a little in her seat. It was weird having people come to her and take an order. She had to wonder when this custom began. It seemed... Interesting, and from what she could gather, they weren't paid nearly enough. Gwendolyn, however, stared at Charlie as she rattled off a bunch of food names she had literally never heard of. Ever. Lo Meen. Mein? Sekhuan? What in the world? Her lack of culture only made her blush turn reder.

She perked a brow at the mention of Sake. She believed she had heard that word in her time, or at least at some other point when she was in the modern era.

Gwen crossed her legs and grinned a little foolishly, "Okay, okay... I mean, what does it taste like?" Gwen wanted to be prepared for the sensory overload, after all.

Oh God, Gwen was adorable. Absolutely adorable.

Charlie leaned back in her seat and chuckled, shaking her head at the poor, naive woman who had somehow gotten herself involved with someone like Charlotte Sinclair. Poor, poor girl. "Gwen, you're just going to have to trust me, alright?" she said. There was a twinkle in Charlie's eyes as she took in the form across the table from her. There was no way she was going to go in and explain what each item that she'd just ordered would taste like. That would ruin the surprise, and well, just be strange. She was just going to have to find out for herself.

She had looked a little terrified when the waitress had been by, though. Charlie actually felt a little bad. But, Gwen was going to have to learn. She wouldn't have Charlie as a crutch forever, if everything went according to plan and Gwen did move out on her own. She needed to learn what it was like to be out in the world in that century, even if it was a little difficult. Things were always overwhelming for her, and they simply would be for the next while. It was an inevitable process, but Charlie did hope that it would end up going somewhat smoothly with her intervention.

The waitress returned a second later with two glasses of sake and two glasses of water. Charlie took hers by the stem and raised it toward Gwen, a smile on her face. "Cheers, Gwen, to you being able to drive. Sort of," she said with a grin. It would improve with a bit more effort and practice, but for now they could celebrate what she'd accomplished in a short period of time already.

After their glasses has touched, Charlie pulled hers back and took a sip, the sake going down her throat easily. She sighed before delving into a question she'd be avoiding for some time. "So... you've got a job, you can almost drive, and you're doing pretty well with things. What do you think... about everything? Are you liking New York? Do you want your own place yet?"

Gwen let out a blush ridden smile. She hated how Charlie found her silly. Well, did she hate it? She truly wasn't sure. She enjoyed watching Charlie laugh. Gwen found herself wanting to be silly just to see her smile. She had a beautiful smile. She sighed contently. Although, she did give a smirk at how Charlie wouldn't explain any of the items they were getting. What if she didn't like it? What if she loved it and wanted more of it? So many things to ponder in the meantime.

Gwen knew Charlie was doing her best to help her adjust to the modern lifestyle. She was doing a great job, too - there would be no way Gwen would be anywhere near ready to do any of this stuff without her. She really was her... Princess in shining armor? Knight in shining armor? Whatever someone would want to call it. She was truly grateful.

It was only a few minutes later that the waitress brought them some water and some sake. She grinned and raised it towards Charlie, "And to you, Charlie, for making it through that terrifying hell." She chuckled and took her sip. It was... Different. It wasn't her usual whiskey that she was use too. She actually took a small sip of water afterwards to help with the taste. She would have to say she still preferred her whiskey.

And then Charlie asked what she thought about everything. If she wanted to move. If she liked New York. One of those questions she wasn't too fond of. She smiled, "I... It's overwhelming, but I think I'm getting there. I think a couple more months and you will not be able to tell the difference!" She nodded a confirmation, "At least, I hope. I love it here. Particularly being here with you and all that." Her voice fumbled a bit, "I mean, thank you, Charlie, for your help." She took a breath and shook her head, "Not really. I like living with you."

Did every stupid little thing lead to this? It might as well have.

Charlie smirked across the table from a gorgeous woman, tapping her glass against hers before bringing it to her lips to sip from the sake. It wasn’t her favourite thing in the world, but it was a tradition, and if she was going to have Gwen try Chinese food, then she needed to do it right. Sake was doing it right.

Gwen was making strides in her progress, and Charlie had to say that she was happy to see that she was adjusting. She still worried that she might be holding her down, though, or keeping her from living the life that she might want. Was she being too much like a mother or older sister? That wasn’t what she wanted to be at all, but she didn’t know how she was coming across. The blonde was so entirely used to being untethered that it was strange to adjust to having someone always be around. Someone was depending on her all the time.

“I believe you - you’re already miles ahead of where you were when you first got here,” she said in agreement. A few more months and she would be unrecognizable as a woman from a different time. Soon enough, she would be like every other cell phone toting millennial on the streets of New York.

To be sure, though, Charlie had to make sure that Gwen still wanted to live with her. That hadn’t been the original plan for her, and there were still other options if that wasn’t what she wanted. Charlie very much wanted her to stay, though. She did like having her around. Thankfully, Gwen felt similarly. “Good,” Charlie responded, cracking a smile, “I like having you around. You make me… I don’t know. Feel younger, I suppose?” Around Gwen, it felt like there was less weight on her or something. Everything just felt lighter; easier.

The waitress was coming out with a few of their dishes. The young woman set a few plates down in front of them, which all smelled amazing. Charlie breathed in deeply before staring deep into the eyes of the woman across from her. “Well, dig in, then.”

Gwen couldn't help but let her eyes memorize each feature of Charlie's face. It was confusing, but a good kind of confusing, the way Charlie made her feel. Before, in her time, she never thought she felt like this for anyone. Now, though she could feel herself... Falling for her, somehow. There was truly no other explanation.

With a deep breath, she beamed. She had progressed greatly since first being transported into this time. She knew how to do things the way any other person in this time did. Well, maybe that was a little overconfident, but she still felt like she was almost there. Besides, maybe, the car thing.

She listened carefully to Gwen after her little talk about wanting to continue to live with Charlie. She was a little worried she might not want her to be around, anymore. Any suspicions that that was true was quashed with her words though - which made Gwen smile even bigger. How could someone make her feel this happy? She shrugged a little, "Well, whatever it is, I am quite glad you like me around." She smiled before catching the waitress out of the corner of her eye.

Oh my. There was so much food, Gwen looked to Charlie and their eyes caught. For a moment, she felt a little lost. She quickly looked down, grabbed a fork, stabbing a piece of crispy ginger beef and taking a bite of it. It was... Actually, really good. She nodded as she chewed.