[Vignette 2/2011] Why All At Once My Heart... (Colt & Grim)

[Dr Archeville]

Why All At Once My Heart Took Flight

October 24th, 2009

The Interceptor's Brownstone

It was Saturday night, and Colt had a date. Even though it was just with the girl that lived upstairs, to him it was still a big deal. He liked Grim. He liked her a lot, and he was planning on making sure she had a good time. Although Colt's normal attire was decidedly western, this was a special occasion, and he'd be damned if he'd be wearing cowboy boots with spurs on them. A few more buttons and he'd be all dressed. He looked in the mirror, and a different man looked back. He was no longer the twenty-two year old casually dressed cowboy gunslinger. Somewhere between the loafers, slacks, shiny belt buckle, button down shirt, and blazer, something about his looks had changed. Change, he thought, wasn't always bad. He looked damn good. He flipped on the new hat he'd bought (It was smaller than his usual wide-brimmed cowboy hat, similar to a bowler) and was out the door. Within a few moments he was outside Grim's door, ready to knock. He hadn't had a cigar all day, and though it was killing him, he was hoping she wouldn't smell him this time...

This is pretty cool, Grim thought to herself as she made ready for a night out with her handsome cowboy teammate; so far, they’d pretty much just hung out or made out in the Brownstone, or snuck a quick kiss while out on patrol, but tonight Colt had asked to do something special. Not quite knowing what to expect, she played with a wide variety of looks, from fancy to flirty and everywhere in-between until she’d settled on a cute flapper look inspired by one of her favorite films, Chicago. With her hair in a Lulu bob and dressed in a sexy little black dress with pumps to match, she was confidant she would knock the cowboy’s socks off.

Not wanting to delay things any longer, Colt gave a knock on the door, noting that she hadn't noticed his presence yet, or if she had she hadn't said anything. Three light knocks and he said, "Grim? S'me, Colt. y'almost ready'n there?" They still had some time before their dinner reservations. Certainly enough time to get there, but not really enough time to waste.

To be honest, she'd sensed him before he knocked, but she was nice enough not to mention it. "Hi Colt! Gimme a sec, okay?" She took one final look in the standing mirror before dismissing it with a wave of her hand, then opened the door with a saucy grin. "Hey there, big boy! I..oh! Wow, look at you! You're all classy and stuff." Peering down at her own flirty little dress, she frowned. "Mmm, I think I outghta change."

The shapeshifter closed her eyes and her body was wrapped in pale mist, which coalesced into a sleek red dress, still very sexy but much more sophisticated.

"There, that's better! You ready to go?"

"Y'know," Colt smiled at her, "I reckon I know'a few girls that'd kill fer'a power like that'n. An' I ain't talkin' bout th'changin' clothes thing. I'm talkin' bout th'bility t'know what ya wanna wear right away." Colt placed his hands on his hips in mock judgement, "It took me longer'n that't git ready."

Once Colt was done being a pain, he led Grim down the stairs to the front door of the brownstone. By this time, Grim was so accustomed to simply hopping on Colt's motorcycle whenever they went anywhere that she was surprised when she didn't see it by the curb. Colt smiled, "Close yer eyes," A few seconds passed, and though Grim's nose told her exactly what was going on, she indulged him anyway. "Alright, I reckon ya c'n open'em now." When she did, she saw a limousine parked in front of their house with a driver standing by an open back door. Colt bowed, and waved towards the vehicle, "Afta you, miss."

Lynn opened her eyes and laughed giddily; yep, it was a limo. “Oh my God, this is awesome!” Then she stopped and cocked an eyebrow, and started to tick points off on her fingers. “Wait a sec; limo, fancy duds…are you taking me to prom?!” Colt wasn’t sure if she was joking or not, because the way she was jumping up and down like a maniac…well, to be honest with Grim it could be either way. A corsage magically blossomed on her wrist as she waited for the handsome young man to open the door for her, still bouncing in her heels.

"Well, it ain't prom, but..." He hesitated as he opened the door, allowing her to climb in. "No," he told her, as he followed her into the back of the limo and shut the door. "I reckon it won't do t'just ruin th'surprise like that. Ya gon' have't wait'n see." Colt let a big smile run across his face. After a few minutes of driving, the two arrived at one of the fancier restaurants in Freedom City. It was in the middle of town, right where all the most popular night spots were. As he helped her out of the limo, he waved his hand at the entrance. The only thing missing was a red carpet. The entrance a large, towering Tremont Hotel stood before them. "Look up," Colt pointed. Grim followed his gaze, and saw the rotating structure atop the tower. The Starlight Room. It was one of the most upscale restaurants in town, and it had a wonderful view to boot.

"Whoa, cool! I've always wanted to dine in a revolving restaurant!" Lynn ditched the corsage in a puff of vapor and eagerly headed into the lobby after Colt held open the door for her. "Thank you, kind sir!" Inside the hotel was a huge atrium lined with balconies, with glass elevators gliding up and down. The tiny Interceptor openly gawked as her eyes wandered the interior panorama.

"This...this is awesome!" She took the cowboy's hand and held it tight, like a child on her first trip to Disney World.

"Don't get too excited, now," Colt told her as he led her to one of the glass elevators. "I reckon we ain't even sat down't dinner yet. Th'night c'n on'y get better from'ere." Even the elevators had a wonderful view. The lights of Freedom City shone like stars across the night sky as the ascended to the revolving restaurant in the sky. When they arrived at the top, the Maitre d greeted them with a smile. Colt shook his hand, thanking him for the warm welcome, and they followed him to a table waiting right next to one of the windows. There was a salad bar, a live band, a dance floor near the center of the room, and an incredible view. There was a reason this was one of the premier restaurants in Freedom City, and Grim was beginning to find out why.

When Grim had first got her powers several years ago, her initial reaction was to use them fairly selfishly, taking advantage of rich young ‘studs’ and using them for a few dates at swanky restaurants before ripping of their stereo equipment, a life that she was not proud of now that she’d chosen the more heroic path. During that time, she’d never been to somewhere as nice as the Starlight Room, too scared that she’d slip up and break her assumed cover. Now she was glad she’d never made it here before, because she was able to experience it the way a girl was meant to, on the arm of nice sweet guy. As she took her seat (which her teammate was nice enough to pull out for her), she could only shake her head in wonder.

“Wow, this is…thank you, Colt. This is really nice.”

She leaned across the table and kissed him lightly on the cheek before having a look at the rather impressive wine list.

"Well, I reckon yer worth't." Colt responded to the kiss. "I'm just glad y'agreed to't. I've been wantin' t'take ya out like this fer'a while. Just wasn't sure where till now." They ordered drinks. Colt allowed Grim to pick the wine, trusting her tastes more than his own, which were much more rough when it came to the subject of alcohols. They sat and chatted back and forth for a few minutes before ordering entrées. Once their orders were placed, Colt stood from the table, and held his hand out to Grim, "Would'ya like't dance?"

“Would I? Heck yeah!”

Lynn carelessly tossed the wine list over her shoulder, where an attentive busboy caught it in mid-air and quickly returned it to the table. The diminutive Interceptor rose to her feet and extended her arm towards Colt crooked at the elbow, a huge smile plastered across her face.

“Shall we?”

And so they did; as they glided as one across the polished wooden dance floor, the music of the small house band filled the air, and the young shapeshifter felt transported away from her own mundane existence like she was floating on a cloud. And somehow she knew Colt felt the same way, too.