Apr 10 20:09:50 <Antichthon>	Cass-Callum. <Yo. Where you want to go on our lame date?>
Apr 10 20:12:18 <Knave>	<I don't know. I was hoping you had a plan. There aren't many options with the security lockdown.>
Apr 10 20:15:06 <Antichthon>	<Well, isn't it lucky that I'm an absolute fucking genius?>
Apr 10 20:15:48 <Knave>	<Extremely lucky. Care to enlighten me?"
Apr 10 20:16:33 <Antichthon>	<Gazebo on the table, or is that too awkward? Wherever we go, we won't be there for long. Want to go somewhere where we can sit outside, and you can keep me warm~.>
Apr 10 20:18:01 <Knave>	<Gazebo works for me. Should I meet you there, or pick you up on the way?>
Apr 10 20:18:37 <Antichthon>	<I'm already there. Because genius.>
Apr 10 20:21:16 <Knave>	<Of course.> Callum arrives shortly - quick enough that you might imagine he'd spent the day sitting patiently until he was called. Apparently, he didn't feel the need to dress up, striding up to the gazebo in a black t-shirt and jeans. His hair has been very thoroughly combed, though.
Apr 10 20:32:27 <Antichthon>	Cass was in her chair at the very center of the gazebo, grinning up a storm as Casses do. She was wearing a poofy maroon coat, mittens, and fluffy black earmuffs. She nevertheless wore her short black skirt, tights and knee-high boots, though. She was, in a word, adorable. She waved. "Hey dude! Regret dating me yet?" She teased.
Apr 10 20:34:39 <Knave>	Callum paused on the threshold, reaching up to the lintel and leaning on it as... well, I'm pretty sure that's just something all boys do, "Of course not." He smiles and steps inside, "You look cute."
Apr 10 20:36:39 <Antichthon>	"Oh, don't I always?" Cass winked. She rolled to the bench. "Alright, c'mere, sit down, put these on." A tentacle offered Callum a pair of futuristic wrap-around goggles.
Apr 10 20:41:19 <Knave>	Callum parks his backside obediently and takes the goggles. "Okay..." He says a little trepidatiously, then slips the goggles on over his eyes.
Apr 10 20:45:52 <Antichthon>	He'd see nothing different. Cass , facing him, put her chair right up to the bench, tiny legs threading between Callum's own. "Don't worry, not planning anything dirty. And don't go laconic on me now, dude. It's a date, I want to hear your sexy voice."
Apr 10 20:47:17 <Knave>	"You think my voice is sexy?" Callum says with mild disbelief, clearly flattered, "I've never really thought about my voice before."
Apr 10 20:53:19 <Antichthon>	"I think you're sexy, and a lot of things are becoming sexy by association with you. Anyway, Date time. What's your favorite planetary body?"
Apr 10 20:55:12 <Knave>	"Huh." He says, "Never really thought about it." He looks off at the sky for a moment, then looks at Cass, cocking an eyebrow inquisitively, "What's the little one, closest to the sun?"
Apr 10 20:56:44 <Antichthon>	Cass blinked. "Mercury. C'mon dude, you seriously don't know that? Need to get you some magic schoolbus books."
Apr 10 20:58:50 <Knave>	"Astronomy wasn't my favourite subject, okay?" He says, chuckling but defensive, "I drifted off in class a lot."
Apr 10 21:06:30 <Antichthon>	"Oh, that's fine. ...Actually nah, it isn't. Not going to have a boyfriend who doesn't know the planets. But we'll cover that, later. For now," Suddenly two halves of a capsule slammed shut around them. There was a window. They were somehow on top of a massive rocket, fuming, rumbling, prepared to take off. It was all sound and visual, though; Callum would feel nothing different. Cass went cheshire. "Date time."
Apr 10 21:10:00 <Knave>	Callum looks at Cass with a mixture of admiration and pride. "You are a genius." He reaches out a hand to take hers gently, smiling with some satisfaction.
Apr 10 21:12:43 <Antichthon>	Cass looked vaguely disappointed. "You know, I was hoping more for a, 'holy fuck, how did we get here? We're going to die!' reaction. Your glasses switch over from AR to VR alright?"
Apr 10 21:13:05 <Antichthon>	Cass did smile and pat Callum's hand, though.
Apr 10 21:15:10 <Knave>	"Contrary to appearances - and I think I've mentioned this before," Callum says slowly, turning a wry smile on Cass, "I'm not as much of an oblivious, backwoods hick as I look."
Apr 10 21:18:00 <Antichthon>	"Yeah, but...c'mon, this is the best VR you've ever seen, right? Bah." Cass' voice turned mocking. Friendly mocking, but mocking. "'I don't know what 'Mercury' is but I know what NextGen VR is.' That's you. That's you right now." Cass pointed to the sky. "Liftoff!" And the rocket took off. Within a minute Earth was just a speck. Cass grunted. "Not quite as dramatic when you can't feel your eyes being pushed into the back of your skull, is it?"
Apr 10 21:20:44 <Knave>	Callum shrugs, "Nothing to compare it to." he says, not clear whether he means the VR, the launchm or both, "But still, very impressive."
Apr 10 21:25:27 <Antichthon>	"And just so you know, Mr. Doesn't-Give-a-Shit-About-Astronomy, this isn't an accurate simulation. Just in case you thought people can go from Earth to Mercury in a matter of minutes." Cass grinned. Mercury came into view, and there was nothing left of the rocket but the capsule now, on a direct collision course with the planet. Cass, meanwhile, couldn't get over how Callum just seemed vaguely interested in the whole thing. "Okay, now I'm seriously worried you think my idea was lame. VR's all we got though with all the shit going down, right?"
Apr 10 21:28:02 <Knave>	Callum leans forward, putting his free hand on her cheek and speaking with sincerity, "Cass. This was a brilliant idea. I'm impressed and astounded by both your intelligence and your VR." He leans back again, "I'm just bad at showing it, okay?"
Apr 10 21:33:21 <Antichthon>	"Sssh, only I can go on about how smart I am. You're just supposed to think it silently." She grinned, took the hand to the cheek and returned with a pat to Callum's thigh. "And just so you know, I cut back on the aphro. Just for you, sweets." Meanwhile, the capsule smashed into Mercury with great sound and fury, throwing up a cloud of dust and leaving a gigantic crater. Cass winced at the loudness of it all. "Okay, should have checked the volume on that in simulation when I was making this program last night. Ow."
Apr 10 21:36:40 <Knave>	Callum winces at the impact, and he instinctively reaches out to stroke Cass comfortingly. Then his brain catches up and he cocks an eyebrow, "Aphro?"
Apr 10 21:45:30 <Antichthon>	"Aww, so protective!" Cass half-cooed, half-jeered. "And yeah, aphro. It's what I call it, not actually specific drug. But hey, if I'm getting pumped full of lifejuice, might as well tweak the mix and have a fucking hell of a good time, right?" The dust cloud settled and the capsule broke open. The giant sun was directly above them, though the virtual thing could do nothing to alleviate the chill of oncoming winter. Was still a hell of a view, though. Cass sighed. "Date on Mercury. Who's got two thumbs and is winning like a boss? This girl."
Apr 10 21:47:07 <Antichthon>	"And keep that thing about the aphro just between us. Shit's super illegal."
Apr 10 21:57:27 <Knave>	"I'm not sure I approve. So I guess it's a good thing you've toned it down. Huh." He tore his eyes away from the supersized sun overhead, bigger than he'd imagined ever seeing it, and looked with similar wonder at Cass, "You are good at reading me, aren't you?"
Apr 10 22:01:57 <Antichthon>	"Only for today, Callum. Wanted this to be more about us as people getting to know each other, because apparently I'm a sentimental fuck." Cass shrugged at the question, looking coy. "Maaaybe. Pretty good at reading people in general." Cass was pretty blase about the whole Mercury thing, she'd seen this all too much before. "Now, realtalk. How are you dealing with the stress of this whole, 'we might be nuked any day' thing?"
Apr 10 22:06:06 <Knave>	"I..." He sighed, "I don't really know how to word it." His body slouches, his head lolling forward so that when he looks at Cass with big, sad eyes, he's looking up, "I'm not scared. Not for myself, anyway. It sounds dumb, but..." He leans forward, tries to straighten himself up, "I feel like I should be doing something."
Apr 10 22:11:29 <Antichthon>	Cass grimaced. "Yeah, well. Be lying if I said I wasn't scared for myself. More scared about the people I love because, fuck it, I get nuked I'm not going to be around the lament about it. But I know where you're coming from, no one likes to feel helpless. I know what will help you feel better, though." More grins, as Hex lifted Cass out of the chair and placed her on Callum's lap. Her short skirt was riding up, too. "Keeping me warm. It was part of the deal, after all. And--holy shit, you're vast. With my back against you, you feel like you go on forever."
Apr 10 22:15:35 <Knave>	Callum wraps Cass up in his mostly-bare arms, one resting across her waist and the other just below her bust. "You're right," He says in a whisper that's probably more husky than he realises, "This does make me feel better." He squeezes very, very gently for a moment, "Comfy?"
Apr 10 22:21:19 <Antichthon>	Cass looked up at him, all smiles. "Yup. Though to be honest, you're making a mockery of my claim to be able to read you. I was hoping you'd turn a bit red. Also, I'm curious as fuck as to the...scope of what I've got myself into, if you know what I mean." Cass wriggled her butt. "Go ahead, let nature take over. Not going to judge you, stud.?”
Apr 10 22:27:55 <Knave>	"Cass..." Callum says, at a loss. If the goal is to keep Cass warm, Callum's doing a pretty bang-up job, as his whole body seems to heat up at the thought, not least of all the heat radiating from his cheeks. "You're one of a kind." He lifts her slightly for a moment, cheeks growing redder by the second, shifting into a slightly more comfortable position, "You might need to give nature just a little bit more of a hand." It's not hard to hear the smirk in his voice.
Apr 10 22:36:55 <Antichthon>	"Damn straight I am. World couldn't handle another one of me." Cass could just about feel Callum's flush, even through all her layers. She cackled when, instead of shutting down, he played into their little exchange. "Aww, you're getting used to me! I am both happy and disappointed about that. And hands will come someday big boy, when we aren't all scared as shit about our future. Right now just checking out the equipment." More help? Cass grin widened more. She put her boots on Callum's help and pushed back into him. Very weakly. "...okay, embarassment time. This is literally the best I can do."
Apr 10 22:40:19 <Knave>	"It'll do." Callum says in the strangled voice of teenage boys everywhere trying not to get -too- excited. True to his word, Cass finds the answer she's seeking, and as a special bonus this is the most nervy and adorable she has seen Callum yet.
Apr 10 22:44:35 <Antichthon>	"OH you are //adorable// And..." Cass blinked. "Okay, that's actually about what I expected." She had mercy on the poor boy and went still. "And yeah, I totally made a liar out of myself. 'want it to be about us, not about sex!' not even going to apologize." She sighed, put her arms around Callum's own, hugging her so gently. "You seriously have no idea how safe I feel right now."
Apr 10 22:45:46 <Antichthon>	"And warm. Fuck, I really do make you hot, don't I?"
Apr 10 22:49:46 <Knave>	"You have no idea." Callum echoes, then bends at the neck to kiss the top of Cass's head, "I'm glad I make you feel safe. The feeling's mutual." He breathes in deeply then exhales, looking up, "It can be about us and about sex. Not as in- I don't mean- You know what I mean. It's part of it."
Apr 10 22:53:34 <Antichthon>	"Oh, I know, I know." She grinned at the kiss, blew her hair out of her face. "Just want you to know that's not all I think about. I like you for more than just your body, and all that. But teasing you is so fucking fun. And...hold up. //I// make //you// feel safe? ...Guess I could get Hex to taze some wankers if I needed to, but I never really thought of myself as much a security blanket."
Apr 10 22:57:21 <Knave>	She feels him shrug his huge shoulders - it just about rocks her whole body. "I can't explain it. It's just..." He makes a quiet noise, leans back a little, taking Cass with him, "I don't know."
Apr 10 23:03:42 <Antichthon>	"Bah, don't need to explain. how you feel is how you fucking feel. Also: Holy shit, every move you make just telegraphs your raw power. It's //amazing.//" Cass was taken along with Callum as he leaned back, and it made her heart leap. "Words cannot express just how excited I get, feeling like I'm entirely subject to your will. I fucking love feeling like your plaything."
Apr 10 23:10:20 <Knave>	"You really are the worst at steering this date away from sex." Callum smiles gently, "Come on. Tell me about yourself, starting wherever you may, O muse."
Apr 10 23:13:09 <Antichthon>	"Yes. Yes I am. In retrospect, maybe should have cut the aphro a bit more." Tell him about herself? "Fuck, what is there to tell? I mean, yeah, I'm interesting as shit and a gift to all humanity, but you know that already. I...play games. A lot. I'm fucking beast at 'em. ...This would be easier if you asked specific questions."
Apr 10 23:15:10 <Knave>	"Well, I don't think I know where you come from." Callum suggests, "Or really much at all about your past. Except that you have two dads. I remember that part."
Apr 10 23:23:34 <Antichthon>	"Grew up in Perth. Dad's from Australia. o-Dad's from Saudi Arabia. A pair of billionaire geniuses who met, fell in love, merged their companies and started making tech so fucking advanced the GWU classified it as supernatural. Think that about covers it."
Apr 10 23:26:23 <Knave>	"Huh." Callum ponders this information for a few seconds, then starts laughing. He's not in hysterics, but they're good solid laughs, shaking his body and Cass's with it. He makes a noticeable effort to stop himself, calming it down to little, sparse chuckles.
Apr 10 23:27:59 <Antichthon>	Right now, Callum's body was basically her whole world. So when he rumbled, it might as well have been an earthquake. "I d-don't m-min the r-ride," Cass smirked, "B-but what's s-so fucking f-funny?"
Apr 10 23:30:12 <Knave>	"It's nothing, it's silly, I was just," He shakes his head through a delighted exhale, "I imagined your parents coming over for dinner. My ma would be sure she didn't have plates fancy enough for 'em."
Apr 10 23:37:56 <Antichthon>	"Oh hell, my dads wouldn't give a shit about that. I mean, I grew up in a technological wonder of a mansion, but I can fucking tell you the dinnerware was dull as dirt. Neither of them care about fancy for the sake of being fancy. They're just ultranerds."
Apr 10 23:42:25 <Knave>	"You don't know my ma. It's not about them. She just has some crazy notions about fancy plates." He shakes his head slowly, "Anyway, your dads sound great. What's Australia like?"
Apr 10 23:45:04 <Antichthon>	Cass shrugged. "Hell, I don't know. I'm really not the right person to ask. Let's just say I didn't get out much, because going into particulars would make this depressing. You aren't allowed to be depressing on Mercury. Little known law."
Apr 10 23:47:21 <Knave>	"Okay. I'd hate to defy galactic law." He gave Cass another little squeeze, looking up at the VR sky, "It is kind of easy to forget we're not really here."
Apr 10 23:53:20 <Antichthon>	Cass snorted. "Galactic law? It's just a system law, you drongo. You really don't know anything, do you?" Another grin, and she followed his gaze up to the sky. "Outside of the whole, y'know. Not-dying-a-horrendous-death thing. I for one like my air." She took deep breaths to illustrate this.
Apr 10 23:57:10 <Knave>	Callum shut his eyes, just to feel it better; her chest rising and falling, pressing against his grip. Instinctively, he joined in, taking in a long, strong breath through the nose, inflating his chest behind her.
Apr 11 00:00:45 <Antichthon>	Cass turned her head to listen to his chest. His breathing. The beating of his heart. The gurgling of his stomach. "...You know, if it gets too cold, I suppose I could cut you open and crawl inside. I'm tiny enough."
Apr 11 00:05:06 <Knave>	"Heh. It might not even kill me." Callum muses, slouching in his seat so that Cass is as much laying on him as she is sitting in his lap.
Apr 11 00:08:25 <Antichthon>	 "You're a good bed, Cal." Beat. "Holy crap I am bad at this. Apparently when you take away my teasing and innuendo and straight-up lewdness, I'm nothing. Nothing!" she reached up, grabbing the air. "Noooooothiiiiiiing!"
Apr 11 00:12:26 <Knave>	"You've still got your sense of humour." He beams down at her, "Not to mention drama. And the genius thing. Last time I'll say it. Promise."
Apr 11 00:16:08 <Antichthon>	Cass' arms flopped back down. "Yeah, it's true. Even gimped like this, I'm still interesting as fuck. It's a gift, and a curse. And you know what, I wouldn't mind closing my eyes, taking a little nap right now. Are you warm enough for that? I sure as hell am. It's either that or flick through different planetary backgrounds, but I figure. One date, one planet. Sound about right?"
Apr 11 00:19:58 <Knave>	"Sounds good to me, sugar." Callum nestles in a little, "I could sit like this all day." One hand tightens its grip on her slightly while the other one loosens to start stroking her hair.
Apr 11 00:23:03 <Antichthon>	She purred at the petting. Literally. She sounded just like a large cat. "You fall into the whole boyfriend/girlfriend act real naturally, Cal. And here  I thought you were going to be an awkward dork for a while."
Apr 11 00:26:53 <Knave>	"Well," He pauses, "It's easy with you. There's no pressure. I can be myself."
Apr 11 00:29:08 <Antichthon>	"Yeah, guess it helps when you know there's literally nothing you could do that I wouldn't enjoy. And...Imma close my eyes and stop talking now." And she did.
Apr 11 00:33:18 <Knave>	Callum continued to stroke her hair, and her arms, as she drifted off in his lap. Breathing in and out gently, he closed his eyes and smiled contently.
Apr 11 00:33:34 <Antichthon>	-Scene Break-