searches_forhim | A First Time for Everything

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who: jack - jack_flanagan

A First Time for Everything

[Continued from the Tag Someone New meme]

Jane had debated for the better part of an hour whether to actually go out with Jack. Yes, their meeting had seemed ideal, and he seemed like a great guy. But appearances could be deceiving.

After talking with Darcy she decided to go through with it - with Darcy's tazer in her purse. She texted him the address of her favorite Japanese restaurant, telling him to meet her at 8. After going through every dress in her closet she decided on a simple black one, accenting it with gold shoes and jewelry. She left her hair down simply because she didn't like every way she tried it up.

She walked to the restaurant since it was only a block from her apartment. She arrived early - she liked arriving early - and stood outside waiting for him. She paced to work off some nervous energy. Astrophysics she had no trouble with. Dating made her shake in her heels.

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Jack seemed so sweet and genuine that Jane did not feel at all intimidated by his size. He was at least a foot taller than her and twice as wide, but he looked more like a teddy bear to her than a giant. Not that he looked squishy, he appeared to be quite fit. Not that she was checking that out.

"So do I. This coud not be more different than where I grew up. Not to mention all of the light pollution makes it really hard to observe anything in the sky." She picked up her menu and opened it even though she already knew what she was going to order. Jane was a creature of habit.

"So you travel a lot?"

Jane would be surprised at his size given how scrawny of a lad he had been until his father's death. His height increased exponentially soon after. Jack seemed to blossom once his tyrannical father had passed. It wasn't a subject he ever talked about. He mentioned the good and dismissed the bad in his life. There were worse childhoods and definitely worse fathers.

He idly looked at the list of food available, clueless what to order. His eyes were on the woman in front of him, easily able to see her over their menus. "I wondered what work you could be doing here. It's fortunate that I see a star or two in the night sky here. I've gotten to know the planetarium well to avoid getting homesick."

A server approached their table before Jack could respond about his travel. He waited for Jane to order, hoping for a clue on what to eat. Their server never said her name as it seemed to be the way in New York. She looked barely twenty and was so soft spoken that it had been hard to decipher if she was truly Japanese or possibly descendent from another part of the orient.

Jack finally chose a soba special with gyoza and a small plate of salad to start. His gaze returned to Jane with a small friendly grin, blue eyes inquiring 'Now where were we?'

Jane would be grateful if the subject of fathers never came up. Her mother had left when she was too young to remember, so she and her dad had been on their own. They were two peas in a pod, and as close as any father and daughter could be. He had passed away just after she got her undergraduate degree, and she still missed him every day.

Jane ordered several different sushi rolls and a salad, just so they would get their first courses at the same time. She knew the waitress was the daughter of the chef who was working at the restaurant only because she needed the money for school. She was a decent enough waitress, but preferred spending her time alone, reading. Jane always left her the biggest tip she could afford.

"I was about to say that I can't believe we never ran into one another before today, if you're really at the planetarium all the time. I take the train to one upstate where you can see a lot more than here. I just got back from spending the summer in New Mexico, actually. Now that is where you want to go to observe. I had to come back to use the university's computers to crunch all the data I gathered, though. They have the best in the country." She was talking about herself too much. She blushed and took a sip of her water.

"Sorry, I tend to babble when I'm nervous."

He appreciated the servers silence though knowing nothing about her. She would receive a sizable tip just for giving them space to talk. There were few things that Jack hated more than a pushy presence. He watched Jane go on for a couple good minutes and restrained a wide smile of amusement. He shook his head, objecting to her stopping herself.

"Nonsense! I am intrigued. And now more so since you stated being nervous," he teased gently with his grin growing. Jack had been leaning in and listening attentively. He not only followed her story but her body while she spoke. Specifically the language her body added to her words. There was no hiding her love for her work. He had a hard time believing she was acting out of nervousness.

She rolled her eyes at herself. "Great. I shouldn't have said anything. Do you ever do that? Think something in your head, and tell yourself 'never say that out loud', and then the next thing you know you're actually saying it?" She really hoped it wasn't just her.

She hadn't realized he was watching her so closely or she would have gotten even more nervous. She had no trouble presenting in front of hundreds of people, but one-on-one was different. More intimate. More chance of seeing disappointment or rejection on the face of the person right in front of you.

"Well you're not getting any more out of me until you tell me about Tokyo. And everywhere else you've been."

"I think all of humanity has fallen victim to that. Some eventually fine tune the mind to mouth filter but many are much worse than yourself," he offered gently with a warm smile. Jack was highly observant. The second he sensed Jane paying attention to his intense gaze, he would have toned it down or even stopped it entirely and brought attention elsewhere.

As it was, he leaned back at her demand (still smiling but a less 'amused at her expense' smile). "Everywhere?" Jack questioned. "I was in her majesty's army which accounted for three years of traveling to many towns, villages and cities. Some of which I'm afraid I've been sworn to secrecy about. But maybe I can tell you the countries. Or simply about Tokyo?"

"I wasn't asking about all of humanity, I was asking about you." He seemed reluctant to talk about himself. She was not sure if it was shyness or because he was trying to hide something. Then he mentions he is sworn to secrecy and alarm bells start to go off.

"Why don't you just tell me about your favorite places." It was Jane's turn to sit back, sip her water, and watch him as he talked. She was no great judge of people just from body language by any means, but she trusted her instincts most of the time. The trouble was Darcy's voice in her head, as usual, telling her that New York is not like a small town in the woods of Washington state and you can't just trust people even though you want to.

He was secretive in nature. Possibly a product of his troubled childhood or having a parent who constantly conversed. Jack was reserved and ever observant. He probably started to appear awkward and hesitant with a red blush lightly coloring his cheeks when Jane seemed to lose patience with him. She had sat back--a sign of disengaging, and sipped her water (could be construed as a further sign).

"My favorite places are usually cities filled with unique architecture. Most of Europe. It's what brought me here to New York. And has me traveling back and forth from Boston. I don't have just one place. The Sistine Chapel is a marvel. Budapest, Rome, and I don't believe Washington D.C. --the Capitol building and the likes--get nearly the credit they should for the buildings built at the time."

Hopefully that would appease her. Jack enjoyed witnessing her exuberance when she shared with him. However, he understood conversations were better had when two people shared. It was his downfall in relationships. He was accused of being closed off. Being a good listener wasn't enough. Sadly, he learned at a young age how hurtful it could be to share inner most thoughts with the wrong person.

Jane was the exact opposite. Instead of buildings, she loved nature. Instead of hiding her feelings and trying to read other people's every movement, she was an open book, and took other people as the same. Some people might have called her naive, but she saw it as being optimistic. A large part of her was afraid that living in the city too long would change her.

"Have you designed any buildings I would know? Wait, architects do that, right?" She wasn't entirely sure what he did, when it came down to it. She leaned forward again so she could see him better. The restaurant was generally dark and relied on small candles on each table to provide ambiance.

"What exactly do you do?"

Opposites often attracted. Jack might not have opted to visit the great outdoors over an ancient city, but he had often admired the architecture of the skies. He learned from a young age that few people could be trusted. It was why he kept to himself and observed. Some could be trusted. A discernible eye and good judge of character helped him see who to allow in. So far, the list was small in numbers.

"Yes, architects do that. I designed a building that's in the process of construction in Australia. I'm afraid that's the only one to date. Mostly, I renovate existing structures. My current title is lead structural engineer, under Urban Planning and Development for a company contracted by many governments. I've had two contracts here in New York. I doubt a city like this would consider my designs but I'm content bringing life back to their dilapidated harbor for now."

His voice was a little lower in speaking about himself than it had been questioning Jane. He was confident in his work but never did well talking about his talents. Jack made the attempt all the same as his date leaned in again and engaged. A compliment lingered on his lips but instead of being uttered in a word, his eyes watched her with obvious admiration. He hardly glanced at the server as their first round of food was brought to the table.

Jane could see the difference in him between when he was listening and when he was talking. His voice was softer, his shoulders slightly less perfectly straight. She found it downright adorable.

"So you like to take things that are broken down, fix them up and improve them to make them even better than they were before?" This was not that dissimilar from what she did. She looked at the existing theories and formulas, studied their practical application, then modified them or added to them to try to make them provable.

The waitress brought their salads, and Jane picked up her fork before she smiled across the table at him.

"You don't get asked about yourself very much, do you?" It was a shame. His lips had this way of curling at the ends when he talked, and his eyes grew more animated and sparkled in the candlelight.

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A First Time for Everything

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