Dinner Date [Past Para] || Jonah & Keely (Finished)
A dinner date between Jonah and Keely. Cut for length.
Jonah hadn't been so confused in a long time. The girl was too young, and she shouldn't be as cute as she was. He knew better. He calmed himself while he drove towards her apartment. He kept the radio off, knowing she probably wouldn't enjoy anything he listened to. He pulled up, sending her a text message to let her know to come down.
Keely stood in front of her bed, two outfits in front of her. Getting his text, she chewed her lip and sent one back. <What's the dress code?>
Jonah almost rolled his eyes at her response. <Nothing torn or ripped, and far from naked? I don't know.>
Keely narrowed her eyes at his text. What kind of girl did he take her for? With pursed lips, she sent one back. <Meant formal or casual, genius.>
Jonah chuckled softly at her response. She was very apt to make fun of him, even though he knew that she didn't think he was dumb. <There isn't a dress code, Keely. Just wear something nice.>
Keely sighed, going for the first choice. Would a cheongsam dress be considered overdressing? Donning the green asian-style dress that came to knee length with a slit a modest-ish quarter up her thigh, she pulled her hair up into two buns, doing her best to try her hand at makeup and all that crap. Feeling satisfied, she slipped on her long, brown leather heeled boots and a brown leather purse thing (she didn't know quite how to describe it, it looked nice) and headed out, locking the door. Walking out to his car, she was grateful for the warm weather and opened the door, plopping in the passenger seat. Looking over at Jonah, she waved. "'Sup."
Jonah realized that he probably should have given her more time before he came over, seeing as he was sitting in the car for about 15 minutes before she came down. He smiled softly at her as she climbed into the car, shrugging as she spoke. "You look nice." he said softly as he put the Audi in drive and headed towards the restaurant.
Keely blinked. A small part of her wanted more than a "Gee willikers, you look adequate." from him. Smiling shortly and looking forward, she sat in uncharacteristic silence as they drove. "So...weather's nice..." She inwardly groaned and rolled her eyes. Seriously? That's the best she could do?
Jonah licked his lips as he drove, noticing her silence more than she did. It was about 20 minutes to the restaurant, and it took her almost 5 minutes to say anything, and when she did, she was grasping at straws. He felt bad, she was normally so boisterous and outgoing. Somehow he knew this was his fault. He cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes, thankfully." He paused as he made a turn, but then continued. "How have you been? Staying out of trouble?" He smiled softly as he glanced at her for a second before focusing on the road.
Keely nodded and smiled at him, lips painted a ruby red. She didn't tell him that, even though she was well into her twenties, that this was her first date ever. There had been no crowds of girlfriends fussing over her clothes or makeup or asking her relentless questions about him. It was just her, alone in her apartment, listening to Fleetwood Mac at high volumes to drown out the sense of the floor falling away beneath her. Fleetwood Mac was a band her parents listened to, and while it wasn't exactly her style, it was like comfort food for her ears. She summoned her sassy facade at his question. "Been fine. Not much trouble to get into. People walk around this town like they have a stick stuck up their asses. And then there's Bishop...." She definitely didn't want to get into trouble with him.
Jonah nodded at the mention of the dragon. Alex had told him about his encounter with the man, and it didn't seem like Bishop was a pleasant person. "Yes... About that. You did get the invite to the campground, yes?"
Keely nodded. "Yup, I did. And I plan on going. Threats to safety or not, I need to get out of Atlanta for a bit. Do something fun."
Jonah nodded again, smiling at her. "Me too. I don't need a vacation, but I do want to know what is going on. I guess I was out of the loop for too long in Germany." He turned to look at her full on as they stopped at a red light. "But I'm sure it will be fine. After all, I'll be there, and I don't know how much you know about gryphons, but we're very protective of our friends." He smiled brightly at her before turning and continuing forward as the light changed.
Keely chuckled. "Oh thank God. I just need to strap you to my side for the whole trip." Taking out her phone and checking her emails, she responded as he drove. "Germany? What were you doing there?" Putting her phone down, she looked over at Jonah. "How much you know about pixies?"
Jonah saw her glance at her phone, and bit the inside of his cheek. "Ah, I'm from there. I was born in Germany, a long long time ago. I was just helping people, and spending time by myself. I wasn't really doing much." He shrugged, then glanced at her again before focusing on the road. "Quite a bit. I know a lot of pixies, or at least I did." He paused for a moment. "What do you know about gryphons? Besides obviously that we can fly?"
Keely blinked, looking at him. "How long ago are we talking?" She nodded at his knowing pixies. "A lot? Poor guy..." she chuckled a bit, shrugging. "Well...I haven't met any, but mom had a big book of mythical creatures that I'd read as a kid. Isn't their blood supposed to be like some sort of healing agent?" She paused, thinking to herself. "...Or is that unicorns...?"
Jonah chuckled softly. "I'll give you a guess. How old do you think I am?" he found himself realizing how young she was, but then again, there were very few gryphons left, and he hadn't met another other than Talos in probably 100 years. Now, however, he at least had some faith that there might be more. "Well, I believe unicorns do the same, but yes, we do have have the ability to heal others with our blood. Though we can't heal ourselves with it. But that's not all we can do."
Keely blinked. "I don't know...35? Maybe 40?" She knew mythics had extended life spans, but it was one thing to guess how old a normal person was let alone someone who could be anywhere from 20 to 200 and still look like they were 18. She blinked. "Wait, unicorns exist too? I mean...I've met a lot in New York City but..." she trailed off, looking straight ahead. Jonah laughed out loud at her guess on his age. "My dear, I am 451." He smiled at her as he parked the car. "And yes, there are unicorns. They're just very shy." He unbuckled his seatbelt and went to open the door. "Hungry?"
Keely just stared. "....451? Huh...." She blinked, thinking to herself for a moment. Why was he out with her? "Why the heck are you taking me out to dinner then? Hell...I'm 25..."
Jonah smiled at her and shrugged. "Because you're friendly, and funny and I enjoy your company. Is this not alright? Should I take you home?" he looked slightly confused.
Keely shook her head. "No. No. Just...processing...I mean....I'm fine with it. Are you fine with it?" She chuckled as she opened the door. "And yeah, I am really hungry."
Jonah climbed out of the car and locked it as she got out. "Of course I'm fine with it. It's not as if we're together or anything. Just two friends, having dinner." he smiled at her again as they entered the restaurant. It was a little dim inside, but decorated with a lot red and many small candles. They were taken to a table very quickly, and had to wait a bit for the waiter to come by with drinks.
Keely deflated a bit. "Right, right. I don't see why it wouldn't." She cleared her throat, looking off to the side. When they were seated, she looked at her menu, eyes riveted on the list as she was silent, lips pursed as she looked deep in thought over something.
Jonah was confused as she fell silent. He hoped he hadn't upset her, but he couldn't let that happen. He had to keep himself from falling for anyone, it was too dangerous and too much trouble. He looked at the menu, deciding on the baked lasagna and the calamari for an appetizer very quickly. "You ok?" He asked as they sat there in silence for a few more minutes.
Keely didn't know why she felt sort of disappointed. So it wasn't a date. She felt a shamed flush creep up her neck. So she had worn one of her best dresses and spent more time on her makeup than ever before for something that really wasn't even a 'something' to begin with. She felt like a chump, and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she read in silence. "Yeah, I'm fine." she said stoically, pretending to be debating something on the menu. Jonah: It wasn't hard to tell that the pixie was upset now. He hadn't known that she thought that this was more than what it was, but maybe he should have. He bit the inside of his cheek again, and folded the menu back up, reaching out to take a drink of the water that the waiter had brought while they decided. "Well, why don't you tell me something I don't know about Keely? What's your favorite band?" He knew she liked music, so he hoped that this would distract her some.
Keely was starting to feel like this was a waste of time and resources. The least he could have done was say it was a date and leave it at that. Dates didn't have to promise more, did they? Looking up at the gryphon, she shrugged, taking a sip of her water. "I like Kerli, Savant, Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta, Calvin Harris." She was sure someone as apparently old as him wouldn't know any of them.
Jonah could tell that she wasn't interested in what was going on now. There wasn't much he could do about it now, but it didn't stop him from being upset that she wasn't able to act herself. "I like Calvin Harris. My nurse listens to him sometimes." He looked at her again, putting down the glass and then taking a deep breath. "Keely, do you... Do you want to get a bottle of wine? Or perhaps something else to drink? I remember that you said you prefer tequila. Do you like Patron? I've been told that it's the best." His eyes could easily tell her that he was bothered by something as well.
Keely tensed, feeling his efforts to make it up for her. She sighed, widening her eyes as she waved him off. "No. You don't have to buy me anything." She forced a smile on her face and snickered a bit to take the focus off of her. "What do you listen to?"
Jonah wasn't convinced she was having a good time, but let it go. They were there to enjoy themselves after all. "Well, it would be for both of us, but alright." He ordered his food as the waiter came and took their orders. He smiled brightly back at her as she pushed the question back on him. "Oh, well I do enjoy my Mozart, but I also enjoy the music from the 60's, The Mama's and The Papa's, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and I love Aretha Franklin."
Keely nodded, looking impressed. Her parents listened to that kind of stuff, sans Mozart. The thought made her blood chill. He was older than her parents. She ordered her food and sat straight, which if he had observed her, he would know that she leaned back when she was comfortable. Things had just taken an abrupt turn off to some side she didn't know she was ok with or not.
Jonah frowned again and slumped back slightly in the chair at her body posture. Sometimes he felt like an idiot, but it wasn't like he could fix things now. He'd set about a path, and he couldn't force himself to turn around. He found himself thinking of his wife, but that had been so long ago... No, not now. She's just a child. he thought to himself. "Keely, am I making you uncomfortable?" He said, chewing his lip.
Keely arched a brow at Jonah, a weird twinge spreading throughout her. He wasn't an empath, was he? "Pshh, of course not! Why would you think that?" She laughed good-naturedly, setting her elbows on the table but not being able to lean back still.
Jonah looked at her, dead serious. "Because you look uncomfortable. You were all sprawled out on my couch the other day, and now you're sitting as though you're in a church and will get smacked with a ruler if you don't pay attention. But... I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I like you, Keely, I really do. You are normally very outgoing, and you seem to have lost your voice."
Keely snickered to detract from her nervousness. "Well I was acting kinda weird then." She shrugged, trying to play it off. "I just...I might be coming down with something." she said by way of an excuse, leaning forward on the table, inspecting the silverware. "Heh...what voice?"
Jonah frowned at her again. "Well, if you're coming down with something, perhaps I should draw some blood and run some tests. You might have the flu, or a cold. I could prescribe you some medicine, if you'd like?" He didn't stop looking at her as she inspected the flatware on the table, knowing that she was avoiding looking at him. "And the voice with the high pitched laugh that likes to poke fun at me because I'm not up to date with all your sassy lingo."
Keely gritted her teeth. He was starting to annoy her with how hard he was trying to make this ok while still trying to keep his distance. At one point she cut him off by looking up at him, her mouth pressed into a hard line as her angry eyes betrayed her true form, her irises a smoldering, sharp mint green with overly large pupils. She took a deep breath, her eyes settling down to their regular, duller green hues. "I don't need tests. It'll pass eventually." She looked up at him, a wry smile on her face. "Well you haven't given me anything to laugh at lately."
Jonah was startled by her sudden anger at him. He almost bit his tongue as he clenched his jaw. She was upset because she had thought something more was between them. That was his fault. He licked his lips again, then nodded. "Well, I could tell you that my nurse laughed at me because I was humming a Justin Bieber song the other day. Oh, and I still don't know what you meant by 'That's what she said'." He was trying, because that was all he knew how to do.
Keely chuckled a bit. He was so cute when he tried to be hip. She furrowed her brow and tried to banish the thoughts. There obviously wasn't any chance for potential with him, he'd have to prove to her otherwise, which it seemed more likely that her and Angel would get mani-pedi's together than that happening. Jonah relaxed visibly at her chuckle. It was better than the angry glare she'd given him just a moment before. The food arrived at that point, and he began to eat quickly.
Keely ate slowly, looking at him with confusion. Did he want this to be over quickly? The very thought sent her chuckle spiraling down into silence, clearing her throat as she forked a bit of pork chop, chewing it slowly. Jonah looked back up at her as she started to eat, and realized that she was chewing slowly and had only taken a few bites of her food, whereas half the calamari was gone and so was a third of the lasagna. Looking up at her eyes sheepishly, he smiled. "Sorry, I tend to get a bit over excited about food. I think it's something to do with the lion part, you know?" He put down his fork and took a sip of the water.
Keely couldn't make herself laugh, though she wanted to. Forcing herself, it sounded sort of stiff, but still had a twinge of humor in it. "Right.” She almost found his wolfish eating habits endearing. Almost. She still thought it was just because he wanted to leave, but she held onto a shred of hope. Jonah quirked an eyebrow at her. "Doth I sense you calling me a liar?" he grinned.
Keely chuckled a bit more. "Quit being paranoid, man. That ain't cool." She looked off towards another table and not at his grin. If anything, this dinner just made her all the more sensitive to his endearing qualities. Funny thing how knowing it can't be yours makes you want it even more.
Jonah chuckled softly and took a piece of the calamari. "You want some?" he asked, before popping the piece in his mouth.
Keely nodded and plucked it off the plate with her fork and popping it in her mouth. "Mmm." she hummed in appreciation, chewing.
Jonah smiled again. He took a few more bites before saying anything else, trying to let her enjoy the food. "I think I want a glass of wine. You sure you don't want one?" He almost continued with that sentence, mentioning something about how he was a well paid doctor and could afford it, but managed to bite his tongue in time to keep from saying it.
Keely: At this point, Keely would kill for some alcohol. "Yeah...Sure, I'll have some." She hated thinking of sharing wine, a classy romantic drink, with someone she apparently was so wrong about. She was still sort of reeling over the fact that he didn't see this as a date, which was part of the reason why she wanted booze in the first place.
Jonah nodded and waved the waiter over, ordering two glasses of a rich red wine. He continued to eat, glancing up at her every so often, but for the most part looking around at other tables, and pushing his food around to force himself to eat slower, and to not seem as frustrated with the situation as she was. "I'm glad you came to dinner with me." He said finally.
Keely sighed, not sure if she believed it. "Are you really?" she asked simply, looking at him square on.
Jonah smiled, honestly, and nodded. "Yes, I really am. I'm sorry that it seems... weird. I'm sorry if I did something to upset you."
Keely shook her head. "You didn't upset me. I kinda just..." She sighed, looking embarrassed as she looked away. "I thought this was going to be my first date...like ever." She looked extremely vulnerable, completely unlike the sassy facade she put up.
Jonah frowned and then looked shocked. "Oh... I... Well it can be one, if you want?" He asked, seriously. "I didn't know. And I don't understand why it would be. You're great, funny and quick witted and smart. Have all the boys in Atlanta gone blind?" he smiled again, hoping that she wouldn't get angry at him again.
Keely shrugged. Normally guys wrote her off as annoying and immature and she hadn't gotten an actual date because of it. She now looked very subdued, shrugging. "Doesn't matter what I think. If you want it to be one then make it one." She couldn't tell him that she couldn't be bought with wine or dinner or things like that but with words that penetrated her goofy facade and struck the heart of her issues with human relation. "Guess they have..." she said finally, giving him a pointed look.
Jonah shook his head. "No, Keely, it does matter what you think. And.. I really am sorry." He blinked and looked back at his food when she locked eyes with him. He had to clear his throat, but the wine arrived at that moment and he took a long slow sip before looking at her again. "I'm not blind, Keely. I'm... I'm old. I'm..." he sighed and trailed off for a second, taking another drink of the wine. "I'm just old." He said, frowning.
Keely: So that was it? His age? Granted four hundred and whatever was a long time, but he didn't act like some old fogey. Mythics were special cases in her book. "Well I'd like it to be a date, if my opinion matters shit." She took a small sip of wine, the liquid tasting unfamiliar on her tongue, yet not unappetizing. This was a far step from drinking Coronas on the beach with her arcade co workers after closing, watching the beach bums and tourist couples walk the shores of Myrtle Beach at night. "Does that really matter to you?" she asked, trying to sound profound.
Jonah he smiled softly at her. "Ok, then, a date it is." he took another bite of the calamari, frowning that it was almost gone. He looked back up at her and his face belied his emotions at that moment. "I... It does." He couldn't tell her that it was much more than that. "Keely, I'm old enough to be your grandparent's grandfather."
Keely flinched at his words, feeling so small that her power of invisibility almost kicked in and she flickered a bit in her seat, like for one moment she wasn't in the chair. "Ok then. I get it." There was no hope then. Nothing to grasp, and truthfully she wouldn't want to think of someone that way when they seemed so firmly against her. "Thanks for dinner, by the way." she said with a smile, a shadow of disappointment and longing flitting across her features.
Jonah bit his bottom lip forcefully as she flickered in the chair. He forced himself to look down at that point, though his mind wanted to kick him. He'd hurt her and that wasn't fair. He nodded when she thanked him for dinner. "My pleasure." He said, keeping his voice even. Their food was almost gone, and the waiter had already brought the check, so he reached into his back pocket to pull out his wallet and put his credit card in the folder. Keely sighed and cursed inside. This was a complete bust. 'Well then...' she guessed to herself, 'guess it couldn't hurt to tell him now'. She looked up to him and regained her quintissential courage and idgaf-ness and leaned back, no longer caring where the conversation went. "Well if it mattered any, I like and or liked you. Not sure which it is at this point." She let him pay. For this sort of letdown, it was the least he could do.
Jonah bit the inside of his cheek again, thankful that the cuts would heal quickly. He'd spent half of the dinner gnawing away at it, forcing himself to not say anything. "I do like you as well, Keely. You are a very sweet and funny person." He finished the glass of wine, putting the napkin over his plate. He wanted to say something more, wanted to fix it. But he just picked up the returned folder, signing the credit card slip and putting his card back in his wallet.
Keely looked at him with a deadpan expression. Worst first date ever. She wasn't going to count it. She already had a plan inside her head. Tell him you're going to the bathroom, turn invisible when he can't see you and sneak out. For Christ's sake, Keely, you're a pixie! You can run back if you need to, and you sure as shit don't need to put up with stiff people like him. However, something kept her there. Maybe it was the desire to ride it out as long as she could, to make him feel every last iota of letdown-ness that he put on her. Or...maybe it was just because, despite how horribly this date had crashed and burned, that she still liked him. If her parents heard about this they'd have a heart attack. Pixies don't stay around long when they don't see any potential. And here she was holding onto some shred of hope she wasn't even sure was justified. She mumbled out a "thanks..." and got up, waiting for him to stand walk to the car.
Jonah could feel the tension in the room, hell, he could have cut it with a knife. Her expression was too much for him to take, and he focused his eyes anywhere but on her, chewing on his lips, his cheek, anything to keep from saying something. As she stood, he stood as well, motioning for her to go ahead of him as they exited the restaurant. As they approached the door, however, he did reach around her to push open the door for her. They walked in silence to the car, and as he unlocked the doors, he did move to the passenger side to open the door for her.
Keely: If there was anything that pixies hated more than anything, save for iron, it was silence. Each solitary second was like a prick on her soul, and it only served to make her more nervous and dwell more on the failure that she had been in interpreting social signs with him. Nodding to him when he held the door open and the car door open, she sat down in his car and clutched her purse with both hands, looking out the window, blinking her eyes repeatedly...
Jonah: As he closed the door to the car behind her, he forced himself to take a deep breath, pausing before opening his own door. If it wasn't for everything else going on in the world right now, he would try, he really would. But there was too many things to worry about, too many bigger problems than his irrational desire to be near this pixie. He wasn't an ass, he knew that it was hurting her. But was it better to hurt her now and have her get over it soon, then to allow her to continue thinking that there was something that he couldn't give her? He wasn't sure, but it seemed to be the best course of action at the moment. As he sat down in the car, he started it with the push button start, but didn't back out of the parking space right away. Taking another deep breath he turned to look at her. "Keely, please don't be upset at me. I am very sorry, truly, if I hurt you. I did not mean to make you think that there was something here that was not. I do like you, quite a bit, but this... is just something I cannot do." He held his breath as she stared out the window, afraid of making her cry.
Keely gritted her teeth, his words cutting like a knife. She chuckled and looked at him with her best feigned look of nonchalance. "You really need to calm down, Doc." With a wink, she sighed and sat back in the chair, crossing her arms, her hands shaking slightly.
Jonah could tell that she was probably lying, but he couldn't force her to do any more. So he nodded and finally reached up to put the car in reverse, and pull out of the parking space. "You're right. How about I show you my driving skills?" he said softly, half a chuckle in his voice.
Keely didn't want to spend any more time in this car than necessary. "I actually have to have a mix ready by tonight so..." She didn't meet his gaze, but managed to keep her tone light.
Jonah sighed heavily and pushed the car to about 5 miles an hour over the speed limit. "Yeah, ok." he said, his voice losing any trace of amusement. It would probably only take 15 minutes at this rate, and since the traffic had died off, it was smooth sailing to her apartments. He flicked on the radio at some point, leaving it low and on the pop station that it was on. "You can change it if you want." He said, gesturing to the radio.
Keely felt conflicted, and conflicted about the inner conflict. She didn't like him acting like this. She wanted to cheer him up, but she didn't want him to forget about how he basically screwed her over emotionally. She needed to show strength now...but she still liked him. "God-dammit." she finally said tensely, quivering in her seat so she looked like her pixie speed would take over and she'd go absolutely bat-shit ballistic. Jonah watched her shake in the seat, and almost reached out a hand to put on her shoulder, but realized that would probably be an inappropriate gesture at this point. "Is my music that bad?" He asked of her 'god-dammit'.
Keely couldn't handle it anymore, and she bared all verbally, her voice slightly raised. "No! This isn't right! This whole goddamn thing isn't right! This isn't how this was supposed to go! I was...There were supposed to be friends helping me get ready, asking me giddy questions about you and all that shit. We were supposed to talk about our interests instead of spending half the fucking meal all silent and shit! And...and...and..." she was growing hysterical. "And there was supposed to be that stereotypical kiss at the doorstep and you saying you'll call the next day and you actually would call and this was just supposed to be a freaking normal date and this just went all so fucking wrong!" She took a deep breath, sitting up straight in her seat, instantly embarrassed. "Just...just let me out. I can walk from here." she said in between tears stinging her face, trying valiantly to force them back, sniffling like a little kid.
Jonah had to slow the car as she exploded on him. He tried to spend as much time as he could looking at her, which being as used to driving as he was, wasn't too hard. He opened his mouth a few times to speak, but she just kept going, so he stayed quiet. When she asked to be let out of the car, he slowed down further, but noticing the poor neighborhood they were in, didn't stop. "Keely, please, I'll take you home, we're not that far. I don't want you walking in this area." he took another deep breath and then spoke again, his voice soft. "Look, I wish it could have gone that way, really I do. But it can't. And I just wanted to have dinner with a friend. You deserve someone who's going to give you all that. I just wanted to... I don't know, make you laugh and smile. I'm sorry I messed it all up for you. If things were different... But they're not. I understand you're angry with me, and I'm not going to ask you to not be. That's your right." He glanced at the road again, and noticed that they were only a few blocks from her house now. "I do care, you know. I... I do like you." He slowed the car further, indicating that if she asked again, he'd stop.
Keely rubbed her temples. "I don't get you. I just...I don't get you." She seemed expended, laying back on the chair almost, every so often twitching as a result of her tirade, saying no more.
Jonah sighed and shook his head. "I know. I'm sorry." He continued driving, pulling up in front of the apartment shortly. He put the car in park and took another deep breath before turning in his chair to look at her, one hand on the steering wheel, the other on the armrest between them, leaning forward slightly. "Thank you, really, for coming with me. I'm sorry I ruined it for you."
Keely gritted her teeth and leaned forward, shoving the gryphon hard out of anger. "Asshole." she mumbled, before she slumped forward and sighed. "I didn't mean that. I'm sorry..."
Jonah flinched as she shoved him, but didn't protest. When she apologized though, he did reach out and touch her shoulder. "Yes you did, and I know I am. I didn't mean to be, though." he gently squeezed her shoulder, as if to try to make her feel better, but couldn't bring himself to say or do anything else.
Keely grumbled, shaking her head when he agreed with her. "God, Jonah. You..." She sighed, continuing. "You make me feel weird."
Jonah couldn't help but chuckle softly as she growled at him. "I know. You do the same thing to me, honestly." He sighed again, and let his hand drop from her shoulder, putting it back to lean against on the arm rest. "I know that doesn't make it better."
Keely grabbed his arm as it dropped, not really doing anything with it but just continuing to grab it. "I don't know what the hell it makes it."
Jonah bit back a gasp as she grabbed his arm. He twisted his hand to try and grab her hand as she held his arm. "I don't either, honestly. And I've had long enough to know better." He sighed, just watching her.
Keely just let his hand twist around and grab hers. Why the hell not? It was probably the most normal thing that happened that night. A slight flush creeped across her cheeks as she stared down at her shoes, a pensive expression on her face.
Jonah watched her for a long few moments, knowing that the silence was bad, but unable to do much to fix it. Finally he blinked slowly, keeping his eyes closed for a long moment before speaking again. "Do... Do you want me to stay away from you? I don't want you upset every time we talk, you know." He shook his head at how lame he sounded. "I mean, I don't want to, obviously, but I care enough that I don't want you hurting because of me being stupid." Keely let go of his hand and smacked his shoulder. "Shut up and enjoy the moment." she chided, going back to holding his hand and sitting somewhat comfortably in silence.
Jonah chuckled and nodded, squeezing her hand slightly as she slipped her much smaller hand into his.
Keely sighed after a bit. "No, don't leave me alone. What good will that do?" she said incredulously, shifting uncomfortably but in a good way as he squeezed her hand. "Besides, maybe one day you'll get over yourself." she said with a smirk.
Jonah smiled and nodded. "I don't know. It was just an idea. And maybe one day things will straighten themselves out." he said, smiling at her and nudging her slightly with his elbow. "And you haven't made fun of me for the car yet." He said, arching an eyebrow at her playfully.
Keely rolled her eyes. "You WANT me to make fun of you?" She chuckled, looking over the car. "Well...I just hope you're not compensating for anything..." she said with a chuckle, squeezing his hand back.
Jonah smiled brightly at her chuckle, it was the first time it had sounded sincere all night. "Ha, well, you know, midlife crisis and such." he let his thumb run across the back of her hand over and over as they held hands.
Keely scoffed. "Please. You still look like you're 30." A shiver ran up her spine as his thumb rubbed over her hand. "What do you mean by 'things', by the way?"
Jonah smiled again, but then it faded as she asked. Things... what things? He chewed on the inside of his cheek again. A wife who died over 100 years ago, the dead promise of a son, the dragon trying to kill their kind... A million different things. "I mean this whole dangerous world we're living in. I... I plan on doing everything I can to stop it, and even risk my own neck if I have to." He paused for a second to look at their hands intertwined. "And the age factor... I know it doesn't seem like a big deal to you, but when you get to be my age, you'll realize it is."
Keely sighed. "Well just pretend I'm only a slight 430?" She chuckled, albeit darkly. "And you can't use the dangerous world for mythics card. That's not ever going out of play."
Jonah frowned slightly at her comment. He started to shake his head, but then she continued. "Well, that's the goal, is to not have it be in play anymore. But that may require more than some are willing to give up." Keely nodded. "Well...unless you wanna give me that stereotypical kiss at the front door then I'm gonna go get some sleep..." She looked over at him, half-hoping he'd miraculously offer to do so.
Jonah locked eyes with her, finding the green orbs more attractive than they should have been, but determined not to do anything that would make her upset. He leaned forward and gently kissed her cheek, knowing that it would probably piss her off again. He pulled back after a long second, his eyes locked on to hers. "I am sorry..." His eyes tired and sad.
Keely would have reacted very negatively, but even that kiss on the cheek somehow made her put all the crap at dinner on the backburner. Leaning forward and, summoning all her courage, she gave him one back, a small kiss on the cheek, before she leaned back and opened the car door. "Hey, nothing's really standing in your way but yourself." she said with a shrug and an apologetic smile.
Jonah took a deep breath as she leaned closer to him, having to close his eyes and force himself still. When she pulled back, and spoke, he shrugged. "Maybe." He smiled softly at her. "Good night, Keely." he said as she opened the door.
Keely smiled and closed the door, walking back inside the door to the lofts. Once inside her apartment, she sighed and ripped the buns out of her hair and wiped her makeup off, stomping to her bed and kicking the post in anger, which made her stub her toe and cry out in pain as she flopped on her bed, dress still on, crying.
Jonah sat in the car to watch her go inside, and then for another few moments afterwards, finally driving himself home and drinking himself to sleep on the couch.