Dani's First Date
"Sorry Dani, the machine's broken."
"Please tell me you're kidding, Kayla."
The pink haired barista shrugged. "Wish I was. There's a coffee shop down the block though."
Dani sighed and checked her phone. "Alright, thanks."
She turned around and retraced her steps out of the building, texting Tony on the way that she was gonna be late.
She groaned at seeing the huge line. Usually at Stark Industries all she had to do was flash her gold pass and she got out straight at the front of the line. Was it kinda a shitty thing to do? Yes, but after a long day of school (especially a Monday) coffee is important.
Pulling her headphones out her school bag, Dani hit play on her playlist and started bopping her head and humming to the new Taylor Swift album. When the S.I employees turned around and realized she was behind them, they all gradually moved back as no one wanted to be the one who made Tony Stark's coffee late.
The next time Dani looked up, she saw she was a lot closer to the front than she had expected to be and only one person now stood between her and the counter. She decided to pause her music and rest her headphones around her neck so as to not seem rude.
"Next!"
She walked up to the counter and was met with the sight of a girl who looked about her age with bright blue hair. Dani saw the girl's eyes flick to the pin on her backpack saying Love is Love and smile.
"Hey, I'm April what can I get you today?"
"One black coffee with a double shot of espresso and an iced latte with almond milk please."
"Coming right up. Can I get a name?"
"Uh it's Dani. D A N I."
April smiled. "Alright Dani, to go or eat in?"
"Uh, to go." Dani scratched the back of her neck at the girl's really pretty smile.
As April made the drinks, she started talking to the blonde. "So, I haven't see you here before. Just passing by?"
"Oh no, the place I work has its own café but unfortunately the coffee machine broke so here I am."
"Oh, you work at Stark Industries then? We've gotten a lot of those today." While talking, she looked up at Dani for a moment and the teenager major gay panicked.
"Uh, yeah. I'm- I'm an intern."
She whistled. "You must be pretty smart to intern there, huh?"
Dani went red at the implied compliment. "Well I'm, I-I guess."
The blue haired girl finished the drinks, put the lids on and handed them to the blonde. "Well, here you go Dani. Nice talking to you, we should do it again sometime." She winked at her before walking off to take another order, leaving Dani very confused.
It wasn't until she got to the lab and Tony looked at his cup and exclaimed loudly had she realized what the girl meant. "Uh, kid why is there a phone number on my cup? Oh, look a note."
D,
You're cute. Call me.
~A
Furiously blushing, Dani snatched the cup out of his hand. "W-what?"
"Who's A, huh?"
"Uh, girl at the coffee shop."
Tony put down his spanner and looked at his protegé. "Well, are you gonna call her?"
"Uh..."
"Kid, what do you have to lose huh? Was this girl attractive?"
Dani found herself nodding.
"Then call her. God sometimes it's like I do all the work around here."
***
Dani stared at the number for ages once she finally got home from patrol. Remembering what Tony said earlier, she sucked up the courage and sent the girl a simple message.
Hey, it's Dani from the coffee shop. Was wondering if maybe you'd wanna catch a movie with me sometime?
There was no response, but Dani couldn't really say she was surprised as it was 3am. Sighing, she put her phone on charge and decided to just fall asleep listening to the rain outside.
The next morning, her alarm went off for school and Dani groaned but reluctantly rolled out of bed. She went into the bathroom and did her usual morning routine of showering, brushing her teeth and doing her makeup.
She quickly checked her phone to see if April had replied to her, and tried not to be too deflated when her only text was from Ned asking her opinion on something avengers related. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense for her text to not have a reply yet, actually. Firstly, her school for some reason started way earlier than other schools (just because they're nerds doesn't mean they're okay with getting up early) and she had to get up even earlier to catch the subway.
Trying not to think about it too much, Dani finished getting ready and walked to the station. She was five minutes away from school when her phone pinged with a text.
Hi Dani, yeah I'd love to see a movie with you. When are you free today? We should call and arrange it.
Smiling, and probably looking like an idiot on the subway, she texted the girl back.
I'm not working today, so whenever you have some time.
Immediately, she got a response.
My break is at like 5.30, I'll call you then?
Dani replied in the affirmative and went to school with a smile on her face.
***
It was 5.31 and Dani was a bit out of breath after stopping a mugging but made sure to be alone on a rooftop for her call with April. She stared at her phone, biting her lip as it rung. She swiped to answer and put the phone to her ear, turning around so no one could see her.
"Hey."
"Hi. You sound out of breath are you alright?"
"Yeah, I just uh, got back from a run. How are you?"
"I'm good thanks, you?"
"Yeah, yeah good. So..."
"So. Are you free Friday night? It's my only night off this week."
"Uh, yeah sure. How's 6?"
"That's great. Shall I pick you up? Where do you live?"
Remembering she was gonna be staying at Stark Industries that night, Dani clicked her tongue. "Uh, I have my internship Friday but it's only for a few hours so just pick me up outside Stark Industries."
"Alright. I'll pick you up at 6."
"Okay cool. See you then."
"See you then. Bye Dani, see you on Friday."
"Bye April." The call ended and Dani found herself beaming and jumping up and down. "AHHHHH I got a date!"
She saw someone stick their head out a window and shout. "Shut up!"
She winced. "Sorry!"
Smiling still, she swung off the rooftop and got back to her regular crime fighting schedule.
***
It was now Friday. And to say Dani was nervous would be a huge understatement.
She was waiting in the lobby of Stark Industries (after arguing with Tony for hours to stay away from her) and got a text that April was outside.
The minute she left the building, she spotted the blue haired girl in a black ford and walked over to meet her with a smile.
"Hey. You ready?"
The blonde nodded and got in the car. "Yup. Let's go."
On the drive to the movie theatre, the two played a game of 20 Questions.
"Middle name?" April asked first.
"May. You?"
"Catherine. Favourite colour?"
"Probably black or purple. Uhh, how old are you?"
"17, how about you?"
"16. What grade are you in?"
"I'm a Junior. Same question."
"Sophomore. Favourite food?"
The blunette grinned. "Chocolate cake. Any allergies?"
"Peppermint. Sweet or savory?"
"Sweet. How old were you when you realised you weren't straight?"
"Uh, I was 12 and my new friend Ned was horrified to discover I had never seen a Star Wars movie so we watched them all in chronological order. Realised I wanted to kiss Princess Leia and I'd never wanted to kiss any of the boys before. Did some googling, looked at girls kissing and found out I was gay. How about you?"
April smiled. "I was 8, and I watched Victorious and realized I wanted to date both Jade AND Beck. Wasn't until I was 10 I first heard the label bisexual and then literally just last year pansexual so I started identifying as pan. And, we're here."
The car pulled into the movie theatre car park and the two held hands walking in. "What do you wanna see?"
"I don't really mind. Let's see what's showing. Ooh how about the new Beauty and the Beast movie?"
"Yeah, sounds good." Dani handed April a $20 bill. "Can you get some popcorn and nachos?"
"Hey, I'm not letting you pay for everything! I'll get the snacks, you get the tickets okay?" She put the bill back n the blonde's hand.
Dani blushed. "Right sorry. Yeah, that works." She walked off the ticket machine while her date walked up to the counter to get food.
Thankfully, there was a showing of Beauty and the Beast at 6.30 so the girls sat in the movie theatre and talked until the lights went down.
When Dani turned her phone off, she felt kinda guilty about it. Normally she would have been on patrol by now, but instead she was on a date. God, what if there was an attack and loads of people died just because she was having fun?
Just as she was about to over panic and leave the theatre, April interlocked their fingers and smiled at the blonde. Dani put her phone in her bag and tried to concentrate on the movie.
As much as she enjoyed the live action remake of a childhood classic, Dani really could not stop worrying about what was going on outside and bouncing her knee.
Two and a half hours later, the movie ended and Dani could finally check her phone again. She had told Ned she had a date so for once the boy wasn't blowing up her phone with text messages.
"What did you think?"
"Hm?" Dani was brought out of her worries and looked at the smiling older girl.
"The movie. What did you think?"
"Yeah, it was good."
"Are you alright?"
Dani exhaled and bit her bottom lip. "Look, April, you're a really cool person and-"
"Oh, I've heard this before." She smiled sadly.
"I just- I don't think I have the time to date at the moment. I've gotta focus on my internship and school and it's all a lot. I'm really sorry."
April nodded with understanding. "That's alright. I had a good time, and can I be honest?"
Dani nodded.
April sighed. "Going on this date made me realize I'm really not over my ex. I'm not ready to be dating yet I guess."
Dani sighed in relief. "Okay, good. I'm glad this worked out then."
"Yeah me too." She held out her hand. "Friends?"
"Friends."