Growth is Inevitable [Alastair, Sophie]

"Don't get too caught up with it, it's just coffee."

Sophie wasn't really one of extravagant tastes coming from a humble lifestyle did that, though she did have a weakness for clothes. That was probably the only spot she spent a bit of her income on, something like coffee though was never something she'd spend more than was necessary on.

If not for her having a pretty tight composure she might've spluttered the coffee she was sipping all over herself but her flushed cheeks said just enough to show her surprise. Dinner? Was he asking her out on a date? It'd been a while since she did one of those, was she still good at it? Crud. What would she even wear, not her uniform obviously. That'd be wayyyy to formal but it should look nice. The tangents she was following came to an end when it occurred to her that she hadn't actually given him an answer.

"Hehe. Sure, um. What'd you have in mind, Alastair?"

It wasn't often she let herself say um, she didn't like making it sound like she hadn't thought her sentence through entirely before saying it nor did she like falling over herself in conversation. It made her look stupid she thought. That's what happens when you get a little nervous though, her little laugh said as much while she waited to hear what plans he had. She assumed there was some idea he had in mind when he made the offer.

Alastair had asked people out before, he knew what he was doing, and it was only for a meal, after all, nothing else needed to be said, did it?

Even in his own head, he sounded like an idiot.

He hadn't meant anything by it, had he..? But he had just admitted to himself that he was asking her out, so that argument fell apart rather quickly. Regardless of his reasons, he had definitely asked, he had thrown those words out into the air in the middle of her office without a care in the world. In that instant, as Sophie was processing what he had said, he did wonder if the ground might just swallow him up and save him the shame of rejection.

And yet he saw her own cheeks turn pink, a rather pretty sight in itself, and could not help but begin to match in turn. She was interested in the potential of his offer, it might actually work out. A sip of coffee was the perfect cover, of course, and so he occupied the last few moments before she spoke with completing his cunning coverup. Perhaps he should have spent that time considering what to say next, but that had already passed him by.

"I was thinking..." What was he thinking? "That there's a nice little restaurant only a few blocks from here that serves up some excellent seafood, if that is acceptable for you, Miss Geisleitt?"

Was it too on the nose? He didn't want to come on too strong, this wasn't meant to be a dramatic thing. Better to just level the playing field.

"This is just a casual engagement, do not feel the need to put in undue effort on my account. A simple courtesy to repay your own. Though, if there is a different cuisine you might prefer then I am happy to accommodate."

"That sounds lovely."

He was a good guess, she did like seafood. Not because it's taste was anything spectacular or anything rather that she grew up and never really ate a lot of it and so the allure of its exoticism definitely raised it up her tier list for cuisine a bit regardless of it's taste.

Going to take another sip of coffee, it became apparent that the cup was empty when she went to sip it. There went that idea for a nice little attempt to cover up the fact she had the habit of sucking on her bottom lip when she was thinking especially about the fact that she was still figuring out what she would wear.

"It's fine. I'm looking forward to it."

It had been a while since she went on a proper date, hadn't it? Well, especially something as fancy as an actual restraunt. Hehe, her acting coordinator would shake his head if she told him of these plans. The idea would probably get in his mind that she had invited him here solely to get a date for herself after she told him the matter was private.

So this was actually happening then. That alone took a little while to set in, as Alastair too noticed that he was rapidly running out of coffee. He was guilty of expediting the process earlier, though he had come to regret it now.

"Good, we are settled on a destination then. How does your calendar look?"

He considered which day to propose first. It was a tactical choice, as this was a careful balancing act between choosing the weekend or a work night, though he had no gauge of the Albedochiffren's workload. A meeting after a long day of work could be construed as relaxed, whilst a weekend meet was an admittance that the date was an actual occasion.

"I have a free evening on Friday, does that work for you?"

He tried to recall exactly when he had last been out for a proper date as well, life had been so hectic ever since joining the Vandenreich. But perhaps now things were starting to slow down, this was a good thing, right? All these new thoughts rushed through his head and he still had to deal with that Todgestalten business too, he was going to have to process all of this eventually.

"It's open."

She would make it open if necessary, how long had it been since she got a real date? It'd have to be a while now, definitely before she took on this role as an Administrator. Nodding at his suggestion, there was something for Friday but she would clear it. It wasn't important, rather that she could just get her good old acting coordinator Domino to handle it for her.

"Friday's good. Very good."

Sophie grabbed out a book from her draw and began to scribble notes so she wouldn't forget, she liked to be organised. It could be in a system or done digitally but there was a satisfaction in the tactile feeling of writing that made her like to keep up the practice rather than default to typing out things.

Everything was falling into place neatly. That was an achievement in itself, for he had not expected this to go anywhere close to this smoothly. He would need to note all this down in his own journal, though that could wait until later when he was back in his own quarters.

First on the agenda was ensuring that the restaurant was actually up to standard, he could take a long detour back to his quarters and scope the place out - perhaps even arrange a booking should it meet requirements. Failing in that, he would have to source a different seafood place that wasn't too far away so he could bluff it having always been the destination. Then there was the issue of his own dress. He had specified a casual event, which was an unsubtle strategy to lower expectations, whilst, in actuality, he had no intention of being casual. But he could hardly sit here all day plotting, there was a lot to be done though he had to play it cool.

"Well, Administrator, this has been an informative arrangement but I should probably get out of your hair."

He pushed himself to his feet, offering to return the cup to Sophie's desk, and doing his best to straighten out his overcoat from having been seated. Finally, he turned to grab his cloak from where he'd left it, wrapping the white cloth over his shoulders and going to fasten it.

"Until Friday then?"

"It's Sophie."

She corrected him when he called her Administrator, it was really hard to not let that coy smile seep into her lips while she said it. Sophie continued to jot down a few notes while he got ready to leave since there were other things she had to note down beyond the fact she had an actual date upcoming.

"Mhm. Friday. See you then, Alastair."

Now that was something she almost forgot. Sophie tore out a piece of paper and quickly scrawled something down on it. A snap of her fingers as he was on his way out and her Liefertaube spell to animate the paper into the form of a small plane and have it fly into the jacket of his overcoat. It really made her smile how smooth she thought she played that, nice touch right?

It was her address and number, how else was he meant to pick her up or get in contact with her?

A hand clapped upon the outside of his pocket as he felt the slight increase in weight, flicking his gaze downward for a moment in time to catch a few of the details and piecing together exactly what had happened. He quietly admitted that it was a smooth move and made doubly sure that it was secure within his overcoat.

He had, in his haste to make a slick exit, completely forgotten to get her details or share his own. It was honestly impressive that he had made it this far without making a blunder of such proportions already, but somehow even she was happy to play along with it. Perhaps that was the strands of fate pulling in his favour once more, but he had no business being this lucky.

He looked back over his shoulder, eye-locking with the woman at the desk once more, revealing that his lip had curled into a cheeky grin.

"I will be in touch, Sophie."