She was emotional. Mad at a color. And also, a teenager. Which meant, when Ty put a hand on her arm, all sorts of chemicals and signals got crossed.

Lenna looked at him. Patted his hair. He blushed. It was orange, okay.

Eliana had told her situations like this in cars with boys, you needed to be careful and keep your guard up. But he was so clueless, talking about ugly ass cars and laughing at his own joke. He couldn’t possibly be that dangerous. She could leave her guard down.

He asked if she was okay to drive. Her turn. Her pick. He leaned back, finally giving her space, and— well. What the hell?

Instead of immediately answering him about cars, maybe telling him she couldn’t drive, Lenna... leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. And then, she actually kissed him.

Like Eliana always said, Take what you want, and pay for it.

When the kiss broke. She told him. ”I cant drive. Never taught. And all lights are orange.”

Maybe he would help her figure this out? He was sweet for offering to help.

There were very few things in life that could shut Ty up, at least at this age, and to his knowledge. The kiss on the cheek brought him pause, and he turned to look over at Lenna. As soon as he did, their lips met and he let out a surprised gasp, but reciprocated as his heart thumped in his chest and his heart raced. For all of his talk and his flirting, he'd never actually kissed a girl before. He let one arm wrap around her and rest on the middle of her back, the other one awkwardly resting on the seat of the gigantic truck they were currently in.

"Oh, yeah. Orange. I uh...I guess I could drive? Or uhm...I don't know," he stammered, his face blushing even deeper. He was so far out of his element, and trying to get back on track. But she was pretty. And she'd just kissed him.

He took a breath, looking at her. "We probably do need to go though, in case they come back soon. But first..." He leaned in, giving her one more kiss for luck as he moved to swap seats. "And maybe I can attempt to teach you how to drive sometime. I mean I've never taught anyone to drive before but...I didn't think you'd actually kiss me either," he said with a nervous chuckle.

Cowboy was kind of cute when he was struggling. It was such a difference from the affected air of “cool.” Decent kisser too, she supposed.

Really, she hadn’t had that much practice. Very little data to reference.

He spoke sense, even if it was a little bit of a mood killer. Sense often was an assassin, though.

Good on him for following up the lecture on leaving with a kiss. Either he was getting better, or else her startling him the first time had thrown him off his game. The kiss got returned.

She changed seats with him, and absorbed his offer.

”Would be useful.” She agreed. She let a small smile slip back onto her face. ”And you shock me, Cowboy. I thought you were good at stealing. Part of me expected you to try and take a kiss when I made myself all vulnerable and stuff.”

“Kind of wanted it, if were telling truths. You are cute when you squirm, though.” So she supposed her taking the initiative was OK, too.

"Oh, I am," he said, blushing a little deeper. "But a kiss is much better when the other person would freely give it, no? And honestly, I couldn't tell if you wanted it or not," he added with a sheepish smile. "Besides...I'd been enjoying this time together, and if I'd kissed you and you didn't want it...no more fun."

Deep down, Ty was a gentlemen. He'd never stolen from a female before and he didn't plan to start, even when kisses were concerned. God that was confusing. He blushed again, this time not making eye contact for a moment.

"Well, I'll be sure to make a note for next time?" he said with a smirk, trying not to squirm though he still felt rather awkward about this whole thing. He took a deep breath and put the car into reverse.

"Hey! What the **** are you kids doing?!?"

"****! Buckle up," Ty instructed as he hit the gas, and spun the wheel, turning the gigantic truck around and speeding off down the road, leaving the angry owner of the car standing there, pulling out his phone.

"Not the kinda excitement I wanted for the day. We should ditch this somewhere soon and make a break for it, he's calling the cops as we speak," Ty instructed, more confident now that he was back in his element.

Oh he waaas good at stealing, he agreed. But stealing kisses was no bueno. And he had not wanted to ruin a good thing.

Understandable, she thought.

He wasn’t sure if she’d wanted it. She nodded. And told him she had.

He made a note, for next time. Blushing and unable to look her in the eye.

Apparently, cute was her type? And here, she thought she would prefer Bodybuilder Hulks like some of the other girls had. Guys built like dinosaurs, with their brains in their tails because that’s the only place they’d fit. Too much muscle in their heads. Cowboy wasn’t like that, though.

Cowboy... was a gentleman. A gentleman thief.

She almost said something cute that would have made his heart go pitter patter like little feet. But then, some loud man interrupted a good thing!

She spun in her seat, rather than buckling down. Eyes locked on the jerk with the phone. Something like a low growl bubbled up in her throat as her whole world narrowed to a focus. The orange only she could see drew into a single point: the phone.

Bad luck, she thought. Him catching them and sending the policia after them. Bad. Luck.

The phone seemed to twitch, then hop, as he tried to bring it to his ear. Instead of reaching its destination, it tumbled onto the ground. The orange rushed back out to consume everything as she turned in her seat to face ahead.

A hand reached up to pull the belt across her chest and clip it into place with a loud snap. Her heart did the thing she’d maybe wanted Cowboy’s heart to do, with the thump thump thump and the pitter pattering. She took a calming breath, then another, and tried to settle down. Her breathing was not very smooth.

At that distance, though maybe she wouldn’t have known this— using such a power would be a struggle. Especially in a moving vehicle. Many variables. But Lenna thought not of this detail.

”Maybe it is a curse.” She muttered quietly, under her breath. Louder, she added. ”He dropped the phone. On a rock. Keep driving, Cowboy. Just in case it didn’t break. Find us another ride!”

One of her hands rested on the center console next to her, gripping the molded plastic hard.

Crapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap.

It was a good thing 'Cowboy' couldn't read minds because he had a lot more on his mind now. Besides, while he wasn't sure what Lenna was thinking, he had more to worry about, like the fact that they were totally busted and he didn't know if it was too soon to find out if one would wait for the other if they went to jail.

Tires spun on gravel as Ty hit the gas and sped down the road, further into the campsite. He knew the road wrapped around, and there were other cars parked along the way that they could hopefully swap to.

"Keep driving, Cowboy."
"Don't have to tell me twice," he said, his focus and demeanor having done a complete 180 from the nervous mess she'd made him. This was where he felt comfortable; and while kissing girls was looking to be more fun, at least behind the wheel of a car Ty knew what he was doing.

He parked at another parking space and shut the truck down. "Let's go, that one." he pointed to a basic white Sedan. Nothing special but there were a million of those in the city. And that's what he wanted.

"It sucks, but we gotta blend in." He opened the door, and began hotwiring, his fingers stumbled a few times but he still got it done pretty quickly. Once she was in, he put the car in gear and drove a lot more calmly, following the road until they got back to paved roads, and then began the drive back to the city.

"Well, that was all kinds of fun, wasn't it?" he said with a laugh, blushing lightly again as he remembered what was going on before they got caught. It made his heart flutter a little and he wasn't sure what to do about that.

"So uhm....where to from here?"

Driving, he almost seemed a different person. More confident. Quicker. And when they parked suddenly, more demanding.

Lenna almost frowned at the idea of leaving their armored tank of a truck behind. Almost. But damn him. Cowboy spoke sense.

”If we got to...” Lenna said. If anything, she sounded more regretful than disgruntled.

What was it about that damn big car?

The white sedan was a total downgrade. Utterly forgettable, which was the point. Again, “damn him.”

He’d gotten a little bit better with the hot wiring, or else pressure and practice made perfect. Or she was concerned enough, she completely missed any errors. One of the two.

Lenna got in, strapped in, and flicked the fuzzy dice on the mirror to send them spinning.

She scrunched up her nose. Pink fuzzy dice. What kind of sedan even was this?

Scenery flew by as they slipped away. Her eyes dropped to the dashboard clock once or twice, to check the time. Tick tock tick tock.

Eventually, her adrenaline melted away to a low buzz.

>>”Well, that was all kinds of fun, wasn’t it?” He laughed.

As she watched out her window, she brushed a finger against the frosty glass. ”Parts of it were,” She said. If he focused on the passenger side rear view mirror, he just might have been able to see a small smirk on her face. But her tone didn’t give it away.

>>”So, um. Where to from here?”

Lenna looked at him. ”I, am hungry. You should buy me lunch, Cowboy.”

After all, they had worked up an appetite.

It was a little late in the day for lunch, but the comment stood. Plus, it was an excuse to stay around just a little bit longer. And she wasn’t ready to just leave.

"I know, this car is balls," Ty grumbled. "But trust me, people may be looking for us, and we're not gonna wanna be seen. I'm not ready to find out whether or not you'll wait for me in prison," he said as he cracked a small joke before blushing at the implication. He chuckled softly when she flicked the fuzzy dice, and he shook his head. "Really? Didn't realize those were your thing," he teased, shifting back and forth between awkward and confident, especially now that things had toned down.

"Part of it were" He did look in his mirrors often, and he caught the smirk, which gave her comment an entirely different connotation. Was...was she toying with him? And if so...why was he sort of enjoying it? Jesus this was weird, but...he wasn't necessarily going to complain.

"I, am hungry. You should buy me lunch, Cowboy." That, he could do. He'd picked a handful of wallets before meeting her, so he was good to buy.

"It's a date, then," he said with a wink, trying to get the flirting contest he was currently losing back into his favor. "What are you feeling like? Pizza, Italian, burgers...or skip dinner and jump straight to the ice cream?" he asked, glancing over at her.

Whatever she picked, he was going to drive a few blocks, pull into the parking lot, and wait for her to get out before joining her. "Hey, when we get done, if you still wanna hang out, we can afford to swap to a fancier car," The ginger suggested with a shrug.

Wait for him in prison?

He said such silly things. They weren’t going to prison. If anything, they’d just have to fight their ways free. It was simply suboptimal.

”Wouldn’t go to prison.” Lenna said simply.

They wouldn’t.

She flicked dice. He had cracked a joke. About dice. And she had scrunched up her nose. And said nothing. What kind of sedan was this?

—

It was cold outside, so the glass was fogging from her breath. They had a quick back and forth, she smirked. She told him to buy her lunch. And when he said it was a date... she surreptitiously drew a little smiley face in the fog. Which she promptly scuffed out.

”What do you like?” She smiled at him. Lenna knew what she liked but what did he like ”You should surprise me, Cowboy. I like surprises.


>>”Hey, when we’re done if you still wanna hang out...”

They could afford to swap to a fancier car?

Lenna arched one eyebrow. Then clasped her hands and adopted a dreamy, teasing grin. ”Oh can we, really? You must be loaded, to be able to afford stealing all these fancy cars! But sure.” Her face straightened. ”That sounds fun.”

They were rich. After all. She had it on good authority that she was the Burger Queen. Though she’d lost her crown.

"Good. Because I'm too soft for prison," he said with a cheesy grin. He didn't see the smiley face because he was driving, but he was starting to become more comfortable around her, anyway. The blush still wouldn't go away, and his heart wouldn't stop thumping all weird-like, but he wasn't nearly as nervous as he was when she caught him stealing the car. And...she was fun. And pretty.

"Personally, I like pizza. There's a good place a few blocks away that has a good ice cream place right across the street, so we could go there, and hit the ice cream after if you're up for it," he explained, then stuck his tongue out as she started teasing him about being rich enough to afford stealing whatever he wanted. He smiled, glancing over at her. "Good. I think so too."

He pulled into the parking lot and shut off the car, unbuckling his seat belt. "So, we eat, maybe grab dessert, then find a new car. But first..." He took a breath, then when she turned to look at him again he'd lean in and plant his lips gently against hers. They had some time now, since nobody was going to intrude this time--hopefully. Hey, she did say surprise her, right?

"Okay," he said when the kiss broke. "Now we can eat."

He thought he was soft, did he? If she spent more time around him, maybe she’d have to help him toughen up. Cowboys need to be hard. Though she also liked how he was. A balance, then? Like a katana.

Katana needed to be tough, but flexible. So they didn’t break.

Samurai Cowboy. Now there was a thought.

—

Pizza. She had been wanting to try good New York pizza, but with the running and the hiding and the living on the street, trying to find money and ways to survive— she had not had the luxury.

If New York hot dogs were any indication, the pizza would be dangerous and intoxicatingly unhealthy. She’d been able to steal a few street vendor hot dogs. But it had only been about a day and a half since she’d fled the apartment. Maybe two. Her priorities had skewed towards warmer clothing and money for places to stay.

She plucked at a sleeve of her leather jacket. It was a wonder what one could find cheap at a thrifty store.

Maybe learning to steal cars had been part of some plan towards getting more money for clothes and food and a place to stay. But things had clearly changed.

She supposed it was possible to mix business with pleasure. In the world of assassinations, however... that had been frowned upon. Though there are always exceptions.

Pizza and ice cream.

”Yum,” She concluded, with a serious nod.

It was a good surprise.

Her teasing had not provoked him, which was proper. A man who cannot handle innocent jokes at his expense is hardly a man to want to keep around. One must be able to laugh at ones self.

Her response to his comment received a several nods of approval, and an appreciative smile.

They pulled into the lot outside the restaurant, and they both got ready to disembark. And then, Ty stopped her. And surprised her with a kiss.

It was a good kiss. Gentle, long. They held it for a good while. Then he broke it with what she imagined was a cocky smirk. Whether it was, or not.

>>”Okay,” he said. “Now we can eat!”

Lenna didn’t hesitate. She pulled him back into the kiss, with a vengeance. Unlike him, she was not soft. When she broke it, she fully expected him to gasp for air.

Like in fishing, when you catch something small that can grow. She let him go. Catch... and release.

”Okay,” She said, mimicking the tone he had used. ”Now we can eat.”

So there.

Ty was sporting a grin, but it was less cocky and more...accomplished. And it was a good kiss, as far as he could tell. He was still redder than his hair, and is heart felt like it was pounding, and his stomach was fluttering all weird-like, but he felt good. And then were going to go eat. Maybe it wasn't a "date" but to him, it sort of felt like one.

And then she grabbed him and pulled him back in. It...was nowhere near as gentle or soft as he had been. But he wrapped his arms around her and returned it. This was probably the biggest rush of adrenaline he'd ever gotten. One hand moved to somewhat tangle in her hair as he closed his eyes.

When this kiss broke, he inhaled sharply, as if he suddenly remembered that breathing was important. And then she mimicked his exact tone and words, which made him smile even wider, his face so red by now that it was probably purple.

He got out of the car, and they walked into the pizza place together. Time passed in silence as they slowly moved forward in line, one person at a time. Ty couldn't tell if it was slow, or if it was that busy, or if time just seemed to be dragging because of their little moment in the car. Occasionally he'd glance at Lenna out of the side of his eye. She was interesting. Fun. Not to mention pretty. Though he had no idea what any of this meant. What were they? Technically they were just two dumb teens who had only met that day and she actually took him up on what was supposed to be a throwaway joke.

And here they were getting pizza together, and maybe ice cream afterwards, and he was finding himself growing very fond of her company, and not just for the obvious reason.

Finally, it was their turn in line, and Ty got pepperoni. Couldn't go wrong with that. He paid the man for both of their slices and their drinks, and he led her to a table in the corner, near a window, and away from where most of the people had gathered. He set down his slice of pizza that was roughly the same size as the plate, and slid into the seat nearest the window.

And then, something weird happened. Ty Fisher....was speechless. He didn't have a witty remark, a snide comment, or even a cheesy observation. Cowboy...had been knocked off the saddle.

His face wasn’t purple. It, was orange. And he had gasped for air. This pleased her.

It... was pizza time.

Serenely, Lenna followed him into the establishment.

—

The wait in line gave Lenna time to look around. To examine the state of the restaurant, it’s people, the ambience. It was busy, like most pizza places (though her experience with pizza places was nil). People came and went and placed orders and got individual slices, or boxes. Or pans.

The staff never stopped moving. Whether it was cleaning, or preparing orders or taking them. Or restocking shakers of Parmesan cheese or packets of red pepper flakes or anything else. Handing out food. Cooking. Shouting orders.

How did she feel about the situation she was in? Well. Was girl allowed to maintain some of her mystery?

Yes. Yes, she was.

The day had been fun. The kissing game with Cowboy had been intense, and she’d won that. Now, she was going to have pizza.

And when they finally got it, Cowboy... for once, he didn’t have anything to say.

Usually, Lenna was fairly restrained. Unless she wasn’t. Excitement over trying New York style pizza, though, had spilled over into body language. What with the shifting back and forth on her feet, and the staring at everything around her, and the wide-eyed looks as other people got served before them. And what they got!

She was kind of starving. The scent had been palpable, and mouth-watering. Her mouth had, in fact, watered! And she’d had to surreptitiously turn aside and wide at it with a paper napkin she’d stolen from a nearly dispenser. You don’t wipe your mouth on a leather sleeve.

Through it all, though, Cowboy Ty had been thoughtful and had not commented on her actions. Or commentated on the state of the restaurant or the wait. She had not pressed him. And now, they say at the table and he was still not making jokes or trying to seduce her.

Though maybe that seduction ship had already been sent sailing wildly off into the distance, at the whims of the wind.

So... they sat for a moment, in comfortable or uncomfortable silence. Her eyes dropped to the pizza, and— she decided to bash the silence into pieces and crush the pieces under one combat boot’s heel.

”It is too large.” Lenna said, of the pizza. Her mild Spanish accent got a little thicker. Maybe by choice. ”I do not think I can fit it all in my mouth. Do I... cut it up?”

The pizza was the size of the plate. Flat and wide. Her fork and knife were suddenly, dexterously, in her hands. The knife spun along Lenna’s fingertips, back and forth, as she awaited her reply. She made direct eye contact with him the entire time she waited, even while playing with her knife. Dancing it over her knuckles, too.

To say that Ty was floating would be an understatement. He was past cloud nine, and somewhere out in space. He was vaguely aware that they were in fact, getting pizza, and this may or may not have been a date. But he was going to tell himself that yes. Yes it was. She may have 'won' the kissing game but...were there really any losers there? His mind was racing, and his face was tinted red even as they got their pizza and sat down, with him sitting across from her.

"Oh, uh...you can use a knife and fork if you want. I'm more barbaric and just...." He took his pizza, folding it in half and just picked it up and bit it. Though he had to admit she was quite talented with her hands. Er...the knife and fork. She was quite dexterous.

He was eating, but he was taking his time. He'd glance up between bites to look at Lenna. She was....pretty. Very pretty. Her blue-green eyes were captivating, and that accent was a-fricking-dorable. Plus she was bold, and she'd kissed him. The silence, to him was comfortable; it wasn't weird at all. He just hoped she felt the same.

After a few minutes he realized he'd stopped eating after maybe five bites, and had pretty much just been ogling over her. Oops. And was he rocking a cheesy grin? Definitely. Snapping back into focus, he blushed deeper, picking up his pizza and focusing very intently on eating, instead of drooling over his new friend(?).

”Oh. Yes. That is probably the best way.” Lenna said.

Did she sound... disappointed? Yes. Yes, she did. Lenna had wanted to dismiss the silence, and she had failed at her attempt. And so, she ate pizza.

She ate pizza his way. Doubling it over and taking bites. The silverware was put away.

She ate pizza, and he ate pizza. And he ate pizza, and she ate pizza. And after a minute or two, Lenna realized Cowboy had slowed his stride... and wasn’t eating much pizza at all.

He was just... sitting there, and smiling. Was he smiling... at her?

Lenna took a long drink of her water, and contemplated slurping it loudly. She did not know how to handle all this silence. Usually, meal times were times to talk. Maybe joke.

She took another bite, and... maybe snuck a look at him.

Hrmmmmm.

At least the pizza was good. But— oh good. He had realized he had stopped eating, blushed, and rushed straight back into the fray. Which meant no talking. Again.

Dios mio.

She needed to do something about this. Lenna cleared her throat.

”Listen,” Lenna said. ”Is something wrong? Because you are about as talkative as Han Solo in Carbonite. Do I need to... go put on a bikini and rescue you from Jabba the Hutt just so you will talk to me? Because I just can’t handle... all the silence... and the, the, the...” What was the American word? What was— ”Leering” She said, and put all the emphasis she could on that word.