OOM: Date Night

[geeky_agent]

Chris and Jack step out of the bar, into a cold New York City night.

The first big difference from Milliways? All the noise. The sound of horns from the cars on the street, cops blowing their whistles as they direct traffic and someone down the street playing a violin come together to create their own symphony.

She pulls her wrap a little tighter around her shoulders and looks over at Jack with a smile. "Surprise."

Comments

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

He notices her tugging her wrap around her shoulders uncomfortably. Quickly he shrugs out of his coat and wraps it around her shoulders. His suit jacket doesn't offer much protection against the cold, but it's enough.

Taking her arm again, he leads her through the crush of shoppers toward the square.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

Chris smiles at him when he does this and tells him "Thank You." Then, leaning closer to him, arm in his, she asks, "You sure you'll be all right?"

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

"I'll be fine," he says, glancing down at her with a grin, "This isn't half as bad as some of the stuff I did during Special Forces training."

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

She looks up at him. "Why'd you go into the Special Forces?"

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

He shrugs. "I was asked to try out by someone I knew and respected, I wanted the challenge, and I thought it sounded cool." He looks over at her, giving her a wry smile. "I was in my early twenties at the time, so the last reason was probably just as important as the first two."

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

Chris grins. "They only take the best."

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

"Are you sure you want to be stroking my ego like that?" he asks with a teasing grin.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"Why not," her grin is playful, "it is your birthday after all."

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

"In that case, I'll enjoy it while I can," he says with a wink.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

She leans up to kiss him on the cheek, just near the mouth. "Smart boy."

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

"And you know how to flatter me. Smart girl," he says, returning the kiss.

It's only another minute or two before they arrive at Rockefeller Plaza, turning a corner to see the huge tree that is the centrepiece of the plaza. Bedecked in thousands of lights, it sparkles in the cold December air, each light reflected dozens of times in the plate glass windows of the skyscrapers. Skaters spin and whirl, or skate hand-in-hand across the ice of the skating rink, scarves flying. The effect is nothing short of magical.

Jack puts an arm around Chris' waist, pulling her close not just for the warmth.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

Chris wraps her arms around him and finds herself smiling broadly. She had wanted this night to go perfectly, to give Jack one night away from the bar and all the craziness that went along with it.

It looked like she had succeeded.

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Which is, naturally, the very moment that everything has to go somewhat pear-shaped.

The romantic moment is interrupted by high-pitched giggling from a group of young women to Jack's left, and when he glances over, they quickly look away from him, hiding their mouths behind their hands.

He looks away, slightly unnerved. Why the hell are people giggling at him? He has the urge to check his fly, but he's not sure he can do it unobtrusively.

Instead he leans closer to Chris and whispers, "Do I have food on my tie or something?"

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

Chris had noticed the commotion and looked away from the girls to Jack. "What? No," she whispers, looking him over. No food on his tie, shirt was tucked in, no toilet paper stuck to shoes. "No. You're fine."

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

"Well then I can't figure out why--"

He's interrupted by the tallest of the women taking the few steps towards him, the other two clustered behind her like chicks following a mother hen.

The tallest one is grinning nervously, and when she speaks, her words come out in one long rush.

"HiMr.SutherlandIjustwantedtosayhowmuchIloveyourworkon24!" Intake of breath. "CouldIhaveyourautograph?!" she says, ending with a kind of squeak.

Jack just gapes for a moment. "Uh...I think you have the wrong person," he says finally, with a very awkward smile.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

It doesn't take long for Chris to figure out what is going on here and she has to look away to keep from cracking up. When she's able to rein in her laughter, Chris leans close to Jack and whispers, "I don't think she does, hon."

Then she pulls back laughing and gives his arm a playful swat. Turning towards the woman, she says in a confidential tone, "Most people are very surpised by his sense of humor. They don't expect it to be so dry."

She looks back at Jack. "Isn't that right, Kiefer? Now c'mon, stop kidding around with the woman. It's too cold to stand out here and make jokes."

Chris is evil.

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack glaaaaaaares at Chris. "Strangely enough, Chris, I'm not the one kidding around."

He turns back to the woman, smiling thinly. "Sorry, but you do have the wrong person. She's the one pulling your leg, not me."

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

Chris tries not to roll her eyes, it would have been funnier if he played along.

"Whatever you say, dear." Looking back at the woman she says, "Sorry."

Though whether she's apologizing for herself or "Kiefer" is unclear.

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

The herd of fangirls looks rather deflated and they turn away, Jack catching one of them saying, "It probably is him," as the taller one squeaks, "Why'd you guys have me talk to him? That was so embarassing!"

Jack turns back to Chris, smiling this time, though it's a little mean. "You do realize I'm going to get back at you for that sometime, right?"

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

Chris does not care for his plans of revenge. Instead, she clucks her tongue loudly and whispers. "You're so mean. You should have just given that poor girl her autograph or taken a picture with her or something."

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

He rolls his eyes. "Oh, and if she'd asked me something about the show, or about his other movies?" He grins. "First rule of going undercover, sweetheart--do your research or be certain you can bullshit your way through it."

There's a bright flash off to his left and he glances over to see the taller girl ducking behind the crowd, camera in hand.

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

Chris is momentarily rendered wide-eyed in surprise before bursting into a loud laugh.

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack facepalms. "Of all the places, in universes in all the worlds..."

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"Here's looking at you, kid," she says as she lays a kiss on the underside of his jaw.

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack groans, but he's smiling. "Don't get me started. And who are you calling 'kid'?" he says, leaning in for a kiss.