Under The Shady Tree

[Teila Owens-Lee]

The slight chill in the air added to the nervousness Teila was feeling as she walked through the streets of North America. She had only met Marcus once before and now she was on her way to their very first date with a picnic basket gripped tightly in her hand. When she told Mother Betrys about her date she couldn't have been more excited. The pair of them had quickly prepared a picnic basket for the occasion full of many different kinds of food. Teila had quite enjoyed cooking with her mother and couldn't think of anything better to do to pass time. Despite how much easier magic made cooking, Teila preferred to cook the muggle way just like she did when she was a child with her birthmother. It reminded her that magic was not always something to rely on and there were many more creative ways to do things.

Once Teila made it to the local park she quickly realised that she was the first one there and made an effort to find the perfect spot on the grass under a shady tree. When she eventually did, she laid out the picnic blanket and began to set up, eagerly anticipating the arrival of Marcus and his reaction when he saw how prepared she was. She had neatly cut the strawberries and grapes in half and placed them on the blanket next to the freshly-made sandwiches. There was no doubt in her mind that this was going to be one of the most perfect first dates ever.

 

[Marcus Becker]

First dates were interesting events. Marcus didn't have many of them, he didn't really have many dates at all, but first dates were probably the most interesting. Each party was trying to impress the other and reach that coveted second date. Sometimes it was all too obvious that a relationship was not going to work, but other times it was a good indication that a second, third or fourth date would be required to really hound it out. As it was, Marcus was entirely convinced that this first date was unlike any he'd ever experienced, which was a good thing. He'd never thought that a picnic would be a good idea for a first date and yet here he was, heading to a park not too far from where the team was staying, with a nice bottle of Chardonnay in his hand. Marcus could cook, but he was by no means a masterful expert, he generally just ate whatever was good at the time and didn't take much care in his food unless he really wanted to, or had the time. He tended to be training fairly often, so it didn't come up too frequently.

Upon noticing the park, Marcus looked around for where Teila might be, wondering if he might be first. He was a little bit early after all. However it didn't take long to find her. The blonde stood out amongst the trees and he quickly made his way over to her, smiling as he saw the work she'd put into the picnic. All of the food looked absolutely wonderful and he didn't think he would even know where to start. "I can't tell you how good all of this looks, I feel bad that all I brought was myself and a bottle of Chardonnay." He said before sitting on the blanket and seeing all of the miraculous time and effort she must have put in. "I don't think I've seen better food in a three Michelin star restaurant." After he'd admired the food, perhaps for a little longer than was appropriate, he looked up to catch the way the sun made Teila look. She practically glowed, which was an endlessly gorgeous sight. "And you look much lovelier than the food, I really like how your hair is sitting."
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[Teila Owens-Lee]

Teila could feel the butterflies in her stomach as soon as she heard Marcus' voice. His compliment about the food made her blush and she tried to hide it by looking down and letting her blonde hair fall in front of her face. "It's alright. Chardonnay tastes great with fish." she said, gesturing towards the small platters of fish pieces she placed next to the grapes. His next compliment seemed too kind and all Teila could do was smile at him as she began to twist her hair around her index finger, not ever having heard such a compliment before and not knowing what to say. She looked up at him. "I guess you don't look too bad either." she added jokingly, chuckling slightly at her own comment. Her words were simply an understatement for how warm his eyes made her feel when he looked at her, but she was too shy to say anything and so those few words was all she could muster in return for his kindness.

After what seemed like a few moments of staring, Teila quickly then reverted her attention back to the food in front of them. "What's your favourite food?" she asked as she began to lean forward to take a piece of strawberry and taking a bite out of it. The question was probably not the best way to start everything off, but the girl was generally curious and so she couldn't help herself. That, and because she was not exactly an expert on first dates. She never usually went on any but she hoped Marcus had just so he would be able to help her.

 

[Marcus Becker]

Marcus was barely even there five minutes and he was already having more fun on this date than he'd had on any date previous. He was by no means an awkward sort of person, but he did take time to get to know people. Going on a date after only one meeting was an entirely new experience for him. He'd usually want to get to know someone and be on more friendly terms with them, but something about Teila had struck him and he'd wanted to ask her out on the spot. It seemed she'd been just as keen as he had though, as she'd readily agreed. It was a nice feeling knowing they both wanted to be here. He'd been training so much he'd almost forgot what the company of a non-teammate was like."It's a good thing too, I do intend to drink it now that it's here." he said, placing the bottle right in the middle of the blanket and conjuring an ice bucket for it. "Do we have glasses in the basket of yours?" he asked, laughing at her comment and continuing just to look at her. She certainly had the most beautiful shade of blonde hair he'd ever seen.

When she asked him his favourite food, he had to think for a moment and smirked as she picked up a strawberry. He leaned forward and snatched the rest of it into his hand before dropping it in his mouth. "I'm actually rather fond of strawberries." His real favourite food was an old german dish his mother used to make him, Obatzda. A strangely good cheese dish often given to children. His mother used to make it for him and his siblings when they were sick. Marcus had enjoyed it so much that he'd often pretend to be sick just so that he could eat it. Of course his mother had eventually figured that out. "My mother used to make this dish for us kids. It was my absolute favourite. I've not had it in years however." He'd have to visit and ask her to make it one of these days. He was starting to forget what it tasted like. "What about you, do you also like strawberries?"
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