(LA Night)First Date (Activity)

[Joshua]

(Joshua)

I took a deep, meditative breath. I was dressed to the nines, as the saying goes, and decked out like a battleship prepped for war, as Doc said it.

Taking one last deep breath, I held the flowers that Doc had suggested and the gift that, amazingly enough Ate had told me to give her along with the flowers. Coming from a goddess I would be sceptical, but coming from a woman . . . I brought the gift along just in case.

The door opened . . . and I suddenly forgot how to breathe as all brain and body function stalled when I saw the most[glow=white,2,300]beautiful[/glow] sight I have ever seen, and more than likely ever will see until she could actually top herself.

"Mai . . ." I croaked and tried again, "Mai . . . you, you look . . . beautiful just doesn't seem to be enough . . ." I stuttered.

[Maya]

I cast one last look at myself in the mirror- i was wearing dark, slightly flared jeans, and a blood red strappy top which fell lower on one side than the other, tapering to a point. I had on my best black boots- classy AND practical, i had decided, and my hair was sort of piled up at the back, with lots of bits falling loose. I took a deep breath and slung my small bag over my shoulder (well not TOO small, it was big enough to fit a couple of stakes- thank god handbags are like tardis's.) There was a knock on the door. I nodded stiffly to myself, and opened it. Joshua gaped, saying,
"Mai . . .Mai . . . you, you look . . . beautiful just doesn't seem to be enough . . ."
And i snorted a very un-dignified laugh which i quickly had to stifle. I grinned,
"Thats probably the most corny thing i've ever heard." I explain, and his cheeks reddened a little. I smiled, "But thanks- you're looking pretty good yourself." I reconsidered, "Very good."
I stepped out, and closed the door behind me. "So... where are we going then?" I asked.

[Joshua]

"Yeah, like you don't already know," I teased back as we walked down the path from her door to the street. At her confused look, I just tapped the side of my head and grinned.

She blushed a little, but grinned all the same. <So where *are* we going?> she asked.

I smiled a little more. She wasn't violating any privacy issues, despite being more than capable. More than likely she just wanted to be surprised.

"Well, given who, and what we are, and my Slayer powers coming to the fore, we could go to the Graveyard to Patrol . . ." I began.

"Uh, NOT! This is supposed to be a DATE and if you can't . . ."

"Or," I inserted, causing her speech to falter for a second, "we could go grab something to eat at the Spot. Or we could go see a movie, but not that new Brad Pitt movie. Or . . . we could just walk around the city for a while."

"I'll leave it up to you, because while you can no longer claim to be stronger than me, you've definitely got the experience, and the attitude that goes with being a Slayer."

[Maya]

"I so am stronger than you." I retorted, grinning. I glanced at the flowers and the gift in his hands, and chuckled, but didn't mention them. "There must be somewhere better to eat than the spot." I mused, "Although... food on a date is not the best idea... everyone does it, but is there anything less dignified?" He gave me an odd look. "I'm serious!" I laughed, "You ever tried to eat mexican without making a mess?"
"Ok, you have a point." He grinned.
"We could have a picnic." I suggested, and he raised an eyebrow. "What?" I asked, "I'm not allowed to be girly even on a date?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of not having bought one."
"Thats where the being a witch bit comes in." I said, and looped my arm through his, though it was awkward with his hands full of present.

[Joshua]

Couldn't deny the lady's logic so I added to it with the subtle suggestion, "Well, if you take care of the food, I can definitely take care of the location. Ever been to a genuine Native American Rain Dance festival, and not the kind they put shows on for, but back before Settlers from Europe came here? Or, we could always go to India or China when the Great Wall was being built. And my personal favorite, May 19 869 A.D. in the Highlands of Scotland. Quite possibly the most perfect day in all the history that I can travel to."

"And I was worried that we wouldn't have anything to do on our date," Mai commented with a laugh.

"Having stuff to do is never going to be a problem for people like us. It's picking from all the options that is," I said while taking one of the flowers from the bouquet and setting it in her hair. It made a very nice ornament there, and somehow made her whole face light up.

[Maya]

"You're a cheesy twerp, aren't you?" I giggled. He feigned hurt, and I hopped up to kiss him on the cheek. He went to catch me, but failed due to the flowers and gift. I cracked up, "Should i be taking those?" I asked.
"Oh... erm, yeah." HE said, "These are for you." He held out the flowers, and the gift.
"Thanks." I said, grinning, and then realising that my hands were full instead. He grinned smugly, so i stuck out my tongue, and opened my small bag,
"I love being a witch." I said, easily fitting in the large bouquet without squashing it. Then i looked at the gift, and bit my lip.
"Can i open it?"

[Joshua]

"By all means," I said with wide arms. "I hope you like it," I added as she tore into the small amount of wrapping.

'Ate if you tricked me, so help me I will make your eterenity suffering like not even YOU can imagine!' I thought at the goddess, hoping that Mai would ignore that for the moment.

[Maya]

I opened the small box, and found myself lost for words. Joshua was clearly nervous, bouncing wierdly as if terrified of what i might say.
Within the box lay a beautiful segmented sliver bracelet, less than a centimere in width, inset with deep green stones.
"It's..." He began.
"Jade." I murmured.
"Yeah." He said, "It's... well, it's meant to be the mystical birthstone for Mar... your birthday is in March, right?"
"Yeah." I said vaguely.
"Great." He sighed with relief, "Thought so... its, well its meant to..."
"Provide protection." I interupted, finally looking up at him. "It protects and strengthens the body, gives long life... and its a symbol of love and virtue." I was quiet for a moment. Then i added, "That pendant i gave Jessy, that my Mum gave me? That was jade."
"Oh." Joshua said, apparently unsure whether that was good or bad. I shook my head slightly,
"This is amazing." I said. "It's gorgeous... Thank you."
He looked like a little kid at a fun fair his grin was so huge.
[Thank you Ate!] I heard him think triumphantly. I grinned, but didn't comment.
"Here, let me help you." He said, taking the bracelet and fastening it on my wrist.
"Thank you." I said sincerely, and pulling him down by means of his tie, i kissed him softly, then wrapped my arms around his neck. "Thank you." I whispered again, hugging him.

((There we go, thought of something!!))

[Joshua]

Feeling like Million bucks that had just won a Billion bucks, I walked alongside Mai with my head held high, a wide smile on my face, and with my arm looped through hers and our hands holding.

"Oh, before I forget," I said suddenly, drawing Mai's attention away from the bracelet, "Doc said that he found that article you wanted him to find about the thing you asked him about. That's a direct quote by the way. Oh, and Ate subtly suggested that maybe she might have put some protections on that," gesturing at the bracelet, "some god-level protections at that."

"Oh that was nice of her," Mai said with a smile. "She got you the gift huh?"

I shrugged with a sheepish grin, "I knew I had to have something more than flowers and candy or a teddy bear didn't seem appropriate. And I don't know if you like teddy bears."

"They're fine enough, but why didn't you bring candy. That's not exactly a hidden secret that I'm a chocoholic," Mai blushed a little.

"Yeah, and I wanted to be more unique than that, and if I had brought a case full of chocolates, part of you would have wondered if I was trying to bribe you into liking me and this whole date." I sighed and looked up at the slowly darkening sky, many stars having already come out. "Ate did come up with the idea of what gift, as well as provided it for me. I was the one to think of getting a gift in the first place. And before you ask, what Ate was doing in my room, was checking to make sure that her friend was well-looked out for and to ensure that a certain amoung of threats had been made against my life, my soul, my lineage, my children, and even my ancestors if I so much as thought about hurting you. And I never would, nor will I ever intentionally hurt you Mai." I promised.

[Maya]

"Thats... I think thats sweet." I giggled, and leant my head against him. "She's not so bad, y'know." I told him.
"Hm." He replied. I chuckled,
"So... where are we gonna go then? I dont have any preference really... cept it should still be nighttime cos it's more romantic." After a pause, i added in his mind, [And you wouldn't need to bribe me to like you, Josh.]

[Joshua]

We had just reached downtown and was walking along the edge of the street, several buildings with alleys between them to our left as I walked on street-side.

"Well, we have a number of options. The Spot has karaoke and dancing," she gave me an 'Are you CRAZY!' look and then chortled a couple laughs. "There's also going to another club, of which there are many in LA. Or we could..."

I was suddenly interrupted by an incredible cramping sensation in my gut, but Mai was too distracted to notice me stop moving and tenderly grab at my stomach.

"What the..." I managed to gasp out before the cramp bloomed again, larger than before.

Mai snarled and rolled her eyes to the heavens in supplication. "Vamps," she told me, and then she finally noticed my condition, though I hid it very well.

"You really do have Slayer powers don't you?" she asked, sounding surprised.

I just shrugged and was about to answer when the first of the vamps came out. It was the first either of us had noticed that the street was entirely empty save for us and the vampires.

[Maya]

Ignoring the vamps, i grinned at Joshua,
"Now you know how i feel." I teased as he wretched with the cramp. "And most women come to that."
One of the vamps growled, clearly irritated that i wasn't paying them any attention. I rolled my eyes,
"Er, hello!"I said, "We happen to be on a date, ok? So go bug someone else."
"Excuse me?" The vamp asked in disbelief.
"DAte." I repeated, "Private, romantic, Not vampire attacky."
"You're kidding." The vampire said.
"Ok, fine, i'll give you one warning. You do know what a vampire slayer is, right?"
"Ya, cos i havent heard that one before."
I rolled my eyes again, and looked to Josh,
"I know beating the shite outta them would be more fun, but i dont wanna mess up my hair."
"WHAT!?" The head vamp snapped. I smiled sweetly, and passing my bag to Joshua, i quickly raised my hands, palms up, eyes flooding with black, and the gang of vamps disintegrated with slightly bewildered looks. I took my bag back from Joshua, who had recovered from the cramp. "Thanks honey." I said.

[Joshua]

"No problem, I--" I stopped as the cramp distracted me again, but definitely stronger than before. I also noticed that it seem to indicate a certain direction. I was, slowly and painfully, getting the hang of this.

"What?" she asked, then noticed herself as another vampire, singular this time came out of the shadows. Mai scowled and raised her hands again, but I stopped her and took off my tie with my other hand.

"It's all right," I said, sounding much more in control, but definitely more pissed, even to myself. "I'll be right back, if it's OK with you?"

She smirked and giggled, obviously seeing in my mind why I wanted this one. She nodded, merriment dancing in her eyes as she took back her bag. "All right. But just this once. I don't like getting left waiting while on a date mister!" she shook her finger at me.

I kissed the tip and gave her a warm smile. "I'll always come back to you," I promised. "Besides, if you thought girls were grouchy because of these cramps, be grateful that more guys don't have PMS." Then I tore off after the vamp. Seeing me run after him, and seeing the stake in my hand, he quickly did the smart thing and took off running, picking up two cronies that were waiting for him at the mouth of the alley. I chased them all the way to the graveyard, like less than a block from where we were. (((See Graveyard : Destroy for conclusion)))

Walking back, grumbling to myself, I caught up with Mai who had gotten to a more crowded street by now. Upon seeing her my mood instantly brightened, but it didn't stop her from asking, "What's wrong?"

I frowned as I told her, "Mr. Short and Stout crisped the vamps before I could get to'em. Now, for some strange feeling, besides being adrenalized, I'm incredibly frustrated. But seeing you instantly made it all better. You're beautiful, have I told you that tonight?"

[Maya]

I cracked up,
"You really are a slayer, huh?" I laughed.
"Whats that supposed to mean?" He asked with a frown.
"Never mind." I said. "Now come on, take us somewhere fun for our mystical picnic."

[Joshua]

With a grin I looked around several times to make sure that no one was about, and then I tugged Mai into the alley the vamps had been using, away from the larger crowds and getting us out of sight.

Mai's grin deepened, with a hint of lecherousness to it, and said to me in what I believe is the sexiest sound I have ever heard, "Now I know your frustrated Time-man, but I'm not the kind of girl who goes down a dark alley for a picnic."

Gulping, and trying to get my pulse under control, I explained to her, "If you want a picnic, then I need to open a portal to get us somewhere that is else, and I doubt that Willow and Faith stressed all that secret identity jazz just so I could ignore it by opening a portal to ancient Japan in the middle of a busy L.A. street."

She smirked, but it lost the lecherous aspect.

After that, it was merely a point of drawing the runes in the air with my power and then opening to the portal to the Japan Archipelego, 1500 years ago, before polution ever existed, and during a relatively peaceful time on the islands. The Feudal Lords weren't fueding at least.

Mai made all the gasping 'ooo's and 'aah's as we found ourself on a grassy cliff over looking the Pacific ocean, before it had been named the Pacific. There were crimson colored cranes and the sun was just rising, burning away a soft morning mist. The scenery came straight out of all those Japanese poems.

"It's beautiful," the Witch Slayer said breathlessly.

"Not as beautiful as you," I said just as breathlessly, stepping up just beside her.