Ray and Nora on one of their first proper dates (maybe a coffee date?) set after Heyworld
I didn’t forget about this; I’m just very bad at trying to work for school and writing on the same time and unfortunately school had to go first.
XXX
The next morning, Nora actually ran into Ray when she was on her way to the bathroom and he was on is way back to his bedroom, as he just had showered.
“I’m sorry,” Ray quickly apologized, not daring to look at her. Neither of them knew how to address the things that had happened the day before.
Except Nora didn’t feel like the running into her was that big of a problem. She shook her head and let out a soft “it’s okay”.
Ray slowly looked up and their eyes made contact. Ray could watch all day in her sea-foam green/grey eyes, trying to figure them out. He could never find out if her eyes were green or grey, it depended on the moment. One moment they were green, the other moment grey.
Besides that mystery he tried to understand all the stories her eyes told him. The contrasts her eyes showed him. The pain and the joy. The fear and the calmness. The hostility And the love. The sorrow and the happiness.
Nora felt different, Ray’s calming brown eyes grounded her. Those eyes were the ones that showed her all that’s good in the world. She didn’t need to figure them out, she had had years to do that. Only one thing that Nora did need to start comprehending: the funny feeling she had in her stomach every time he was nearby or his name was mentioned.
It was Nora with a “can we talk?” who broke the silence, both had been lost in their own minds.
Ray nodded and briefly pointed at his room.
Nora nodded in her turn and moved towards his bedroom. They didn’t need the words to communicate, their body language and the gestures were more than enough.
The privacy they had inside his room had a soothing effect on them, whereas the silence made them feel anxious. What would the other one say? That this had just been a one-time-thing and the kiss had meant nothing?
“Did you want to talk about yesterday?” Ray inquired.
“Yes,” Nora sighed, “but I mostly wanted to talk about-“ a second passed where Nora tried to decide how to frame her words, “you and me.”
“You wanted to talk about us? You and me?”
“You always seem to know the right thing to say,” Nora remarked a little out of the blue.
Ray shot her a confused look.
“‘Us’... I like the sound of that,” Nora explained.
Ray’s head started turning red, an adorable sight according to Nora. “Well to be honest, so do I.”
Nora awkwardly moved her weight from her toes to the back of her feet. “Well... your family thinks we’re already dating anyway.”
Ray grinned. “That’s very true. So, Eleanor Darhk, would you like to go on a date with me? Just a simple coffee date?”
“I’d be delighted to go on a date with you, Raymond Carson Palmer.”
XXX
They planned their date the day after Nora agreed to go on a date with him. This way Ray could plan everything he wanted to plan. Nora didn’t mind where they would go or what they would do, as long as they would do it together.
That special day, their day, Ray picked Nora up from her bedroom - being the gentleman that he is - and together they traveled back on the Jump ship. Nora didn’t know what time they were, or where they were. She didn’t even know what Ray exactly had planned. Since they were going on a coffee date, Nora didn’t have to wear something nice, so she had just put on a clean pair of dark jeans, a clean shirt and her leather jacket. He also wore a pair of jeans and a shirt that screamed ‘this is a Ray Palmer shirt’. She didn’t mind.
He helped her out of the Jump ship, lending her a hand when she stepped out of the ship, and lead her into the small village. During their short stroll through the village, she saw the beautiful scenery. There was nearly no one there. Ray held still onto Nora’s hand, or more accurately: he had never let go of her hand.
At some point Ray slowed down and Nora followed his sign. They halted in a park, where a red and white dotted blanket was spread out and a small basket stood on top of it.
Ray let go of Nora’s hand and walked towards the blanket, as Nora stood still, flabbergasted.
“I didn’t want to take you to Jitters, the place where we first met,” Ray shortly made eye contact with Nora. “Because I didn’t know if that would make you uncomfortable, but I did promise you a coffee date, so I set this up. I hope you’re okay with this though. I didn’t know what you’d like, so I brought multiple sorts of cakes and pies. However I do know how you like your coffee, so-“
“It’s perfect,” Nora broke up Ray’s rambling.
“It is?”
Nora walked towards Ray and pressed a soft kiss on his cheek. “It is.” She sat down on the blanket and invited Ray to join her.
Ray eagerly sat down and showed her all the cakes and pies he brought, obviously still feeling nervous.
Nora didn’t care about his rambling, she loved listening to him when he was talking, and more importantly: she was on a date with the one she was falling hopelessly in love with, so for now couldn’t live get any better.
