Table For Three

[Seiji Lockard]

"Yes, I think that she will find the bow adorable on you. Now stop moving around so much before it comes off, it keeps sliding down your body already." Seiji pointed out too Akiko who had asked him to help her look fancy for this date. He kept reminding Akiko that it was not a date and more so two friends meeting up to have something to eat together and hang out. Akiko was still going to think of it as a date-date and that if that was not that case with his master then clearly Selina had wanted to date Akiko.

While Akiko would sadly have to break it to her that she didn't cross species date and also was too beautiful to be held down by anyone, she would enjoy a date with the other girl. Seiji had of course dressed up for the occasion but he always made sure to dress well enough every day and didn’t really have anything that anyone else would count as casual wear. It was still casual wear for him; just a high quality casual wear was all. He pushed the bow up again on Akiko's body, having had the hardest time just getting the thing on the snake in the first place in a way that it would not harm her but would stay in place so long as she didn't move.

He had arranged to pick Selina up for this event, and already had picked out a place where he was even allowed to bring Akiko. Which was no small feat and resulted in them having to get a table that would be up on the second floor and near the balcony. Not that Seiji had any complaints but her hoped Selina would not mind or he was fine canceling the reservation if she did. "Good evening, Selina. I didn't keep you waiting did I?" Seiji asked as he quickly moved to open the passenger door to his car so she could get in. Akiko was already letting out a hiss in an attempt to greet Selina.

((Tag:Selina Taylor))

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina had dressed up for her standards as she'd known Seiji didn't have much in the way of genuinely casual wear. She loved the simplicity of this black dress, and it was comfortable for the Montana weather as well as not making her feel like a slob next to the ever handsome and fashionable Seiji. He'd always been so kind and genuine that she didn't think he'd ever judge her for not matching up to standards, but she liked being presentable as well.  

    Selina smiled as she saw Seiji and shook her head, "Not long at all," she replied sincerely, still in absolute awe of his car, but not quite as intimidated as she had been the first time around, which was good. She smiled at her own improvement from last time and then saw Akiko's adorable bow, "Oh my, don't you look lovely?" she complimented Akiko with genuine warmth in her tone. 

    Selina then took in Seiji's appearance with a smile, "And you're quite the handsome man as always," she told him as she placed a kiss on his cheek after he'd opened the door for her. She then slid into the car seat with relative ease, eager to see where they were going. She was incredibly interested in a restaurant that would allow Akiko to accompany them.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji smiled a little more when he saw what Selina was wearing, enjoying that she had actually dressed up with him. He never had a problem with her fashion sense and actually enjoyed that she dressed how she felt and what she was comfortable with. It was the same for him and that his taste was different than most peoples, but he didn't fault them for it or anything along those lines. He would gladly take her out shopping if she ever did want to add a bit more to her clothing collection, but again it was not something he was going to force on her.

"You look lovely this evening. Akiko says you are an attractive human female, for a human." Seiji said, speaking for Akiko too since she could not. He had made a deal with his snake earlier that he would say whatever she wanted to say to Selina, within reason. As long as it was not something that was going to make him blush to say, then he would say it. Also so long as it did not offend Selina because then he would feel bad, even if it would not be the intent of the reptile currently resting on his shoulder. he was pleased to hear that he did not keep her long and Akiko was wiggling around a little bit at the complement, making the bow slide down her body a little bit.

Seiji would fix it later since he was currently blushing and trying to focus on making sure to get Selina in the care so they could get to where he had arranged for them to have some food. He even took into account what Selina liked to eat and made sure that most of her favorite foods would be on the menu in some kind of way. "Thank you kindly." Seiji said as he would fix his tie a little. Once Selina was in, he would close the door, get in his side, and drive them to their destination, it being a slight bit of a drive, but he figured it would go fast. "Thanks again for joining us." Seiji spoke up, wanting to make conversation not make the drive feel faster for her.

[Selina Taylor]

    "Thank you, and thanks Akiko. You're the prettiest snake I've ever seen, that's for sure," she said as she smiled at Akiko. Akiko was also the only snake she'd ever seen, but Selina didn't feel the need to get technical, besides, she meant her words. She grinned at him, "You're welcome, it's not often that I have such a classy date," she admitted easily. Not that she had a preference either way, but still, it was fun to be able to do this every once in a while.

    Selina glanced over at him after he'd climbed in and grinned at his thanking her again, "I'm the one who should be thanking you. Besides, I rarely turn down the chance to spend quality time with a friend," she offered honestly. She liked and appreciated Seiji a great deal and she genuinely enjoyed spending time with him. Selina wasn't one to offer false praise, nor was she one to spend time with people she didn't like. She didn't have that kind of time to waste, after all, life was short. She knew that all too well. Selina also noticed that she felt slightly more comfortable around Seiji this time than she had the first time she'd ridden in his car, and she wasn't near as tense. 

[Seiji Lockard]

"You are really stroking her ego." Seiji informed Selina as Akiko was practically eating up all these words. The snake was already making her way over to the beautiful women to be nice and close to her. If only this human female was a male snake, then Akiko could make beautiful babies with her. That thought from the snake cause Seiji to give his reptile a look and have a very quick conversation about not copying everything she heard people say and how very weird that comment was. Not that Akiko called all that much; Seiji was the only one who could hear her after all so she was not worried.

"I would take you on more, but I don't want to be a bother too much. Plus I would like to do something not so fancy with you as well. I don’t' ever wish to make you uncomfortable." Seiji pointed out. He would have been fine doing things that were not so fancy, she would just have to tell him where since he didn't really go outside the social class he had grew up in. Of course he didn't have a problem talking to anyone of any social class, but it was not like he did activities that 'rich people' didn't really do. He was just happy that she did like to spend time with him because he enjoyed spending time with her.

He didn't even doubt her words, they just felt too honest. Then again, he never really felt like Selina was ever really lying to him. Especially after that talk they had on their trip back to her home, he felt like they really bonded and connected. It made him feel special and like he got a really close friend. He worried when she too would leave him, but he didn't think about that for now and focused on getting them to their destination. Once there he opened up the door for her, and offered a hand to help her out. "We have our own private space and I made sure that there are a lot of selections of food that you should enjoy." Seiji said as she would close the door behind her once she got out. He would offer out his arm to link with hers so he could walk with her into the place.

It was small looking on the outside, but inside it looked rather large and well decorated. It even had peaceful music playing and not a lot of people were around, so it was very relaxing in general. It was probably not the liveliest scene that Selina would enjoy, but they could always go somewhere else. For now he would lead them up to their table where their drink order would be taken and then given them time to pick what they wanted to eat. "This is all on me by the way. All I want in return is for you to let me know if you enjoyed yourself or not and a kiss on the cheek." Seiji spoke up, chuckling near the end since he was teasing about the cheek kiss part.

[Selina Taylor]

    "But of course," Selina replied with a teasing glance at Seiji. "Such beauty is worthy of it." Selina had always liked Akiko's vanity. Such confidence in one's own self was refreshing and adorable to Selina and she couldn't help but encourage it. She saw the look Seiji gave to Akiko and laughed, "What's she saying?" she asked in curiosity. It must have been rather outrageous for Seiji to be looking at one of his precious snakes like that.  

    "You're never a bother to me Seiji. That much I can promise you," she assured him, her tone perfectly serious. She then smiled as he mentioned her comfort, "Well, I'm getting better than I was," she offered honestly. "But one of these days I am definitely taking you to my favorite little restaurant. It's dive, but it has the best food you'll ever eat... outside of my mother's cooking of course," she added with a grin. Maria had been with the Academy for three years now, and Selina may have been slightly biased out of her own love for the woman, but nonetheless Maria's cooking was second to none. 

    Selina would never leave Seiji if she had anything to do with it. Even if they were somehow physically separated, she would make sure to keep in touch with him. He had become incredibly important to her in these past years and she wouldn't give up his friendship for anything. "You're amazing, have I ever told you that?" she asked as he told her about where they'd be eating. He was so considerate and thoughtful and she loved him dearly.

    She looked around in awe and smiled at him, "It's so beautiful here," she admitted easily. As they were led to their table she sat down and grinned as he said he was taking care of the meal. "I'm positive I'll love it, Seiji. And I'll give you as many kisses as you like," she added with a teasing grin, remembering the first time she'd kissed him on the plane. She'd definitely enjoyed it, even if it was rather brief.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji just shook his head a few times in response to Selina's words. The other woman clearly was going to keep filling up the little reptile’s ego and Seiji was just going to have to deal with it. He was just happy that it was not something that really bothered him all that much. It was just weird to hear such thoughts in his mind when they were not his own and he himself had a hard time having even the slightest ego. It was true that he might have done well to take a bit more lessons from his reptiles and maybe he would not be so shy or have difficulty socializing with people, but he didn't really think about it too much. He didn't really worry about himself that much to care about such things, those thoughts were best kept in the back of his mind.

"She is just saying all sorts of things about how beautiful she is, how you are a true beauty for being able to see it, and how I need to work on being a true beauty in order to see it all as well." Seiji informed her. He had no problem telling her what Akiko was saying, as long as it didn't involve Akiko saying something naughty or referring to him and Selina doing something that was not rated G. "That is good to know...but still, if I ever do please don't fear telling me." Seiji informed her. The only way he could only get better if he was told he was doing something wrong, so he didn't want her to hold back. "I will love to join you on such an outing. You might want to come over and help me pick something to wear for such a location so I can blend in better." Seiji informed her when she spoke of a place she wanted to take him to.

He of course was willing and ready to try anything. He was just going to need help with it like he did when he went to her birth place summers ago. "Yes. Yes, you have. Just as I have told you that you are an amazing and beautiful young woman." Seiji responded with a large grin on his face. He meant every word after all, he told her he saw that kind side to her and every day they were around one another over the years, that side just showed all the more. They soon where at the place, getting seated, and everything going well thus far. He just hoped things kept going well and that she did in fact enjoy this. He was about to say something when she commented on how she would kiss him as many times as he would like, which of course had him blushing.

He meant on the cheek but he had a feeling that Selina meant on the lips. Or she was just teasing him, either way he was red and quickly trying to decide what to order. "You are too sweet to me." Seiji spoke up telling the guy what he wanted to drink when their waiter came around to take them. “Feel free to order whatever you want to drink or eat and how much you would like.” Seiji added, wanting to be sure she was well aware of that.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina smiled at Seiji, as she often did. For some reason it was just so easy to relax and be herself around him... maybe because she'd opened up to him in a way she rarely did with others, maybe it was because she never truly had to fear being judged by him, and maybe it was multiple reasons, but whatever the reason was, she was carefree and honest with him in a way that she just wasn't with most others. "You're already a true beauty Seiji, you just need to work on believing it," she replied with a grin. Inside and out, Seiji was one of the most impressive men she'd ever met and she made sure to let him know it. 

    As much as she enjoyed inflating Akiko's ego, Selina cared far more about Seiji gaining the type of confidence in himself that he was more than worthy of. Selina chuckled as he told her not to fear calling him out, "Seiji, you know me. I'm more than willing to speak up about that type of thing," she assured him easily. She'd certainly stood up to quite a few men who'd crossed her boundaries while here... and it'd happened often enough that she was quite used to it. Conflict wasn't something Selina tended to avoid, whether that was a positive or negative trait she wasn't yet sure. Though she'd definitely been more wise about picking her battles recently.

    When Seiji offered to join her, Selina grinned, "Ooh, I get to dress you?" she asked with a wicked grin, already planning all of the things she could get him to wear. "But only after you've been properly undressed of course," she teased. She'd always been cautious with Seiji, both because he'd been a teacher while she'd been a student and because of his innocent nature. So she'd always been willing to take things slow and at his pace... but now that she'd graduated, she might've started teasing a bit more relentlessly. She always stopped if he seemed to be getting uncomfortable though. 

    Selina grinned and almost blushed at his compliment. Seiji seemed to be one of the rare few who could draw such a reaction from her. It was the fact that he was so sincere when he said it that surprised her every time, though she knew it shouldn't after three years of knowing him. Selina just took comfort in the fact that she was equally as skilled at drawing such responses from him. He was always so cute when he blushed too. "Hardly," she assured him with a playful smirk as he claimed she was too sweet.

    Selina nodded to him and grinned, "Thank you, Seiji," she offered graciously. She was far more able to handle accepting his generosity now that she was capable of returning the favor. She then ordered her drink and grinned at Seiji. "Is teaching still going well for you?" she asked in curiosity.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji was more than pleased that Selina felt so comfortable around him. It was what he wanted most in the world, to make sure that people that dealt with him felt happy and safe. Over the years their relationship had seemed perfect and Seiji felt like he had achieved his goal. He never had any doubt but he had worried how Selina was going to be thorough it all. Thankfully she was a gem, just like he expected her to be. "I...I'll keep working on it. Thank you." Seiji responded, as he blushed further again. It did feel good to hear someone like Selina say that he was a beauty. He just needed to work on believing it himself.

He figured she was just being nice and helping build his confidence like any friend would. Still, it didn't really get rid of the fact that he felt a little something for the woman. He didn't know if it was a crush or just having a high admiration for her, the two often blurred for him since he never experience one of them and from his research they seemed to go hand in hand at times. Seiji gave a nod when Selina voiced how she would always speak up if something didn't sit well with her. He knew that, he just didn't want her to think that just because they were friends, she could not say anything without the risk of it hurting their friendship.

There was little that Selina could do to mess up the relationship she had with Seiji and Seiji was perfectly fine with that. He was about to respond and say yes that she could help dress him for their little outing, but his words could not escape due what Selina followed up with. Yes, he was certain that he was blushing yet again and that he might as well change his natural skin color to be listed as reddish at this point. "W-well yes, can't change if I'm wearing something." Seiji ended up responding. he wanted to voice how he hoped she would not be bothered by what she saw and that he did his best to at least make sure that his body was in good appearance at all times.

"Always." Seiji responded when Selina said hardly. She really as always so kind and sweet to him, he loved it. "No, thank you." Seiji responded to her thanks. After all, she had decided to come so he didn’t see the point of her thanking him. "Oh...I'm not reaching anymore. I ended up dropping that job a little while ago and now focusing on all things mutant related. I feel like I can help out more than then I can being a teacher." Seiji responded. He did want to be a teacher, but it just didn't seem to be the things for him. "How are things going for you?" Seiji then followed up with, curious what she had been up to recently.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina smiled warmly at Seiji and nodded to him. Truly, if anyone deserved to have faith in themselves, it was Seiji. "No need to thank me for being honest," she offered with a half smile.  

    Selina let her gaze slowly wander over his form and smirked slightly, "I'm certainly looking forward to it," she teased, her tone suggestive. She was being perfectly honest too, there were few things she admired more than the human body. It was fascinating to her... and sometimes she almost believed she should have focused her studies in a different direction, but she also knew that she wasn't likely to find anything that paid better than her current job. Besides, she was incredibly grateful for the job she had. 

    Selina smiled up at him, her expression almost sheepish at his comment. She almost never got embarrassed, and she never had, but for some reason, when she was around Seiji, she couldn't help but be flustered by his sincerity. "Ahh, yes. I remember that now," she'd been so used to him teaching that sometimes she still slipped up. She eyed him in interest. Every time she'd wanted him over the past three years, she'd stopped herself because she'd been a student and he a teacher. Even when that had changed for the both of them... she'd gotten so into the habit of holding herself back that she hadn't adapted but now...

    "Good. I've been working for the Conners as always. They've been good to me from the start," she admitted easily. She'd never had any complaints working with them, that was for sure. "Besides, I got a new apartment recently, you should come over and check it out sometime," she offered with a playful smirk. She'd gotten it once she'd graduated a few months back, and though many had come to her apartment since, Seiji hadn't yet been one of them. 

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji almost thanked her again, but he held himself back and just nodded. He didn't want her to get tired of hearing him say thank you all the time, even if he wanted to keep saying it. He just felt so grateful to her for being in his life even after all these years. She didn't have to and he sometimes wondered if he was even good enough to have someone in his life for so long, but he was not going to reject it ever. To have someone her trusted and who was his friend that was happy being around him, he would not trade that for anything in the world.

He honestly was happy that he had Selina and that was probably why he could not help but want to thank her all the time. Her tone had him blushing even more but he still thought she really just meant helping him get changed and nothing more. She was just teasing him because she liked seeing him all flustered was what he assumed. "If I don't have anything acceptable, we can also go out shopping to find something but if we do that then you have to let me buy you something." Seiji pointed out. It would feel too weird for him to go shopping with someone else and not get them something as well.

"Good to hear. If they were ever unkind to you, they would have a problem with me and I also would offer you a job...or at least get you one. So if they ever mistreat you or don’t pay you for what you are capable of, you just let me know." Seiji informed her. He was dead serious and as such stopped blushing and looked her right in the eyes. He was no longer a teacher and while he might have worked for the school he had no problem doing whatever he had to if it was for the sake of helping someone out. The blush quickly returned however when she suggested him coming over to her place with that smirk of hers.

"Of course. I would love to. I'll be sure to bring a house...er apartment warming gift even." Seiji said with a few nods. The waited then showed up to take their orders and Seiji was never so happy for someone to ask him what he wanted to eat. Their drinks were dropped off and as soon as they both ordered what they wanted their food would be made.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina grinned, "Then you can undress me in turn... This'll be fun," she teased, a playful glint in her gaze. She was genuinely looking forward to shopping with him, and she also loved the idea of taking him out. Seiji was one of the very few people she'd allowed herself to care for, and get close to. He was someone she trusted, without ever even second guessing that decision and that was something she treasured. 

    Selina glanced up at him and briefly considered his offer, "Thank you Seiji. And I will," she agreed, meeting his gaze evenly. "Luckily, they've been very kind to me," she told him honestly. The Conners would never mistreat her, but sometimes she wondered if she was getting too close to them, allowing herself to get too enmeshed in their lives. She would never leave them or cut back on her hours without first working to find a proper replacement, but on rare occasions she thought she should start looking. Being on call almost all of the time was draining, and she sometimes longed for a regular 40 hour work week. 

    Selina smiled warmly when he agreed to come over, "Good! Glad to hear it." She was kind of excited to show him her new place, as she'd actually taken the time to make it much more like a home. Her dorm had been sparse and bare, always clean and never the slightest it of personality allowed to show through. The apartment though, was hers. Selina had decorated it and made it lively, so even she could feel happy and relaxed while there. She was proud of the little place and of her efforts, and she was looking forward to have Seiji visit her there. 

[Seiji Lockard]

Then he could what?! Seiji was pretty sure that he could not get any redder then he already was. Someone was going to end up calling 911 at this rate with how red he must have looked after those words left his friend’s mouth. She really did love to tease him but at the same time he could not help but to think she was being a little serious. Maybe she was, maybe she was not, and maybe he wanted her to be serious about it. He didn't really know but he did know that he was having a hard time just trying to take what she was saying in the purest of ways.

He might have had a level of innocence to him, but he was not one hundred percent naive to everything around him. "Uh…y-yes. I don’t know if you would like what I would pick for you to wear. B-but I would try my best." Seiji replied. He assumed that if he was going to be undressing her that he would also be dressing her. Right? "Good. I would not be pleased if you remained with them and they were bad to you." Seiji responded. It was good to hear that things were good and that she seemed happy. That was all that mattered to him, her happiness.

The drinks were there and Seiji was already drinking it to have some kind of distraction and to also cool himself down. It just felt so warm in here now and he could tell that it was all his friends fault for why he felt the temperature changed. He felt like her power should have been something to do with heat or seduction with how naturally skilled at it she was. The waiter asked what they wanted to eat and Seiji just ordered a kind of sandwich and salad on the side.

He then looked to Selina to see what she was going to order and after decided to speak up again. "Selina...uh...you are just teasing right?" Seiji ended up asking then after the waiter would leave.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina almost felt bad at how she'd affected him. Sometimes it was hard for her to remember just how innocent Seiji was. "I'm sure whatever you pick would be fine, Seiji. You have far better taste than I do," she replied softly. The old worries that she was a corrupting influence came back with a strength she hadn't expected. Even after their talk in the plane, she was still hyperaware of how she acted around him. And when she slipped up, like she just had, she wondered how he didn't despise her for it yet.

    Selina genuinely liked and wanted what was best for Seiji, while simultaneously being well aware that she would never be what was best for him. Selina was serious in her offer though, if he ever wanted her he could have her, for however long he wanted, but she also only wanted it to be on his terms. Seiji was generous, far too generous for spending time with someone like her, but she couldn't quite force herself to let him go. 

    Selina ordered something similar in nature to Seiji and took a drink as well, wondering if she should apologize... at his question, she felt like she'd been punched in the gut. "Of course. I mean if you want me to have been. I-I'm sorry Seiji... Did I go too far?" she asked hesitantly, her voice quiet near the end. Shit, shit, shit, she did not mean to do that. Why was she suddenly so unsure of herself? All she knew was that the last thing she wanted was to hurt Seiji.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji honestly enjoyed the playful flirting and teasing that Selina did to him, it made him feel like he was a normal guy. A normal guy that someone could be attracted to, even if she was just teasing him. He always felt like he was never fully treated like a normal guy because of how smart he was, his family standing, the snakes, his position, his job, or for whatever reason. "Thank you...I'll try my best. There are a few things that I have seen that I thought would have looked very good on you." Seiji admitted as he folded his napkin several times. He could feel the sudden change then.

He always felt like people were holding back with him and while he was thankful that they cared about him enough to think they needed to hold back but it hurt a little at the same time. Seiji had made it clear to Selina before that he wanted her to be herself and to not hold back how she was. He would adjust and while he had adjusted, he was still not fully used to it one hundred percent. How could he ever be when a beautiful person was teasing him in such a way that made him wonder if she was ever being serious or not with those playful teases and flirts?

However; now he felt stupid and awful for having now upset her with his question. "N-no, you are fine. I'm sorry for asking. I was...I was just curious is all. Like I know we are friends and all it's just...would you? I mean...like even if I was not the last man on Earth would you..." Seiji tried to ask but could not bring himself to do it. So instead he just dropped off what he was saying and sipped at his drink. He felt like he should have kept his mouth shut and just enjoy the teasing without wondering if there was more to it.