168 Interlude: I'm Having Too Much Fun With This

Oakland, California, December 20th, 12:21.

Inside of a spacious training room, the sounds impacts and thuds sound out continuously as a pair of woman fight inside of a ring.

Both of them are wearing the same sports outfit of tight shorts and a sports bra, allowing their well defined bodies to be on full display.

In the middle of the ring, stands Selene in a relaxed position, her raised arms being the only indication that she is ready to fight.

Contrary to her casual stance and even breathing, her opponent, Shortcut, is huffing like she's ran a marathon, with her sweaty body causing her short, light brown hair to stick to her face.

Appearing a small distance away from Selene, Shortcut takes a moment to breathe before she disappears again, reappearing and disappearing over and over again around Selene, trying to land a strike each time.

However, every single time, Selene seems to react before she even moves and has a guard or counter attack ready.

Eventually, Shortcut appears behind Selene one last time, her punch immediately being used as leverage for a full body throw that thwacks her into the ground, with Selene dropping to put her in a chokehold with her legs at the same time, leaving the teleporting woman no choice but to tap out.

"You lasted longer this time, but you're still too predictable." Selene's voice washes over Shortcut's body like a cool blanket as she simply lays on the ground, panting and tentatively feeling out the slowly forming bruises.

"You're haah, just too good at predicting." Shortcut huffs out, indignant.

Seven spars in just as many days and she's yet to even land a hit on the woman.

"Perhaps," Selene concedes, "but you're still too predictable anyway."

The sound of the gym door opening interrupts Shortcut's whining response, and the two of them turn their heads to see Pitfall walking in with three trays of food, simple steak and vegetables, and two cups of coffee.

Taking in the now familiar sight of Shortcut sweating on the floor, Pitfall merely smirks at the suffering woman before placing the trays on a nearby bench.

"Oh my, Shortie, did you manage to land a hit this time? Or are you just enjoying getting manhandled by a beautiful older woman?"

Her teasing words only get a soft chuckle from Selene, who moves over to take a seat with her, accepting the offered cup of coffee, while Shortcut seems to short-circuit, sputtering indignantly at the accusation.

"It's not like you've hit her either!" She eventually stammers out, her cheeks red due to more than simple exertion, "besides, everyone knows that said beautiful woman only has eyes for one man."

A strange look passes through her eyes as she finishes her sentence, staring at Selene as if she is looking for something, only to look away as the woman's face stays unchanging.

Soon enough, the three of them are sitting together and sharing some idle chatter as they enjoy their meal, until Shortcut finally asks the question that's been bugging her.

"Hey Selene, you keep saying I'm too predictable, but like, how?"

"I'm glad you finally asked," Selene responds with a slight widening of her smile, only for Pitfall to speak up straight after, stroking her chin and doing a poor imitation of Selene's tone.

"Your fate is clear for the world to see young one, you must become formless, like the night.~" Immediately following her words, Pitfall bursts into giggles, while Selene just stares at her with a slight twitch to her lip.

"Ahhh, I see," Shortcut continues, nodding her head sagely as if discovering a profound truth, "I must empty my mind and see through my heart.~"

As the two younger women burst out laughing, Selene can only sit there with a wry smile and twitching brow.

"You two are the worst, and I deeply loath you. Do you want my advice or not?"

Unfortunately for Selene, her words are only met with more friendly mockery from Pitfall.

"'Deeply loath'? Girl, if you don't want us to make fun of you for it, then just stop speaking like you're in a theatre play."

"As I have told you before, this is simply how I speak, perhaps I will change my manner of speaking if you ever manage to use a foundation that properly matches your skin tone?"

"Ooooh burn!" Shortcut exclaims as Pitfall playfully reels as if stuck, laying a hand over her heart.

"Fine fine, give your advice already, we've got most of the day off and I want us to do some karaoke later."

With a roll of her eyes, Selene turns back to Shortcut, who is prepared to listen intently.

"Your problem is that you always try to win," Selene says, immediately getting a confused look from both of her friends, "let me try and explain it like this then. Have you ever played chess against a machine?"

After getting a pair of noes in the form of shaking heads, Selene clarifies her example.

"A machine will always choose the most optimal move, whatever has the potential to bring it closest to victory in the least amount of moves. This makes it very easy to predict, as you simply have to understand what is the best move to make, and then plan a counter for it. You are a lot like this, as you always try to win. Instead, you should try to simply not lose, and victory will come eventually."

A brief silence settles upon the women as the younger two contemplate Selene's words while they all eat their meals in silence.

However, once they finish their meals, Pitfall jumps to her feet, loudly proclaiming, "alright then girls! I've got a date the day after next, so we need to do some shopping!"

"Is it Dale again? Or was he the one you said you'd never see again, I get them all mixed up," Shortcut says, poking fun at her friend's many failed attempts at romance.

"I believe Dale was the one who's sense of humour was 'off'. This one should likely be a new head for the chopping block."

In response to her friend's teasing, Pitfall all but stomps her foot in discontent.

"Selene! Why do you have to say it like going on a date with me is some terrible thing!" She exclaims, only to stagger at the at the answer.

"Well, it certainly doesn't seem to be a productive thing. But I would like to do some shopping too anyway."

And so, sharing some laughs and enjoying each others company, the three women set out to find some good date clothes, all the while keeping an eye out for a decent karaoke bar.

====

Oakland, California, December 22nd, 19:00.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢, is all Poe can think as he knocks on the door of Selene's temporary home, dressed in his finest suit and never before feeling so thankful for the mask he wears that keeps his identity hidden.

In less time than he expected, the door is swung open, revealing Selene's dazzling figure. She is wearing a shoulderless burgundy red dress that flows down to her ankles, with a long slit on one side that shows flashes of leg every step she takes.

She doesn't have any noticeable makeup beyond her lipstick, but with her natural beauty, she doesn't need it. Though she does have on an artful necklace with a ruby centrepiece that matches her dress perfectly.

Immediately upon seeing his face, her own lights up with joy and affection.

"You look most handsome in that suit, my Hero. Shall we adieu?"

Catching himself from staring, Poe reaches forward an arm, offering it like a true gentleman should as he matches her gaze with a smile of his own.

"Of course, and might I say that you are looking quite beautiful yourself Selene, and please, call me Edgar."

Taking the offered arm, Selene loops it with her own with a light giggle as they walk towards their destination.

"Why thank you, my dear Edgar," Selene responds with a slight blush that makes her look away for a moment in minor embarrassment, only for her eyes to be drawn back to Edgar shortly after.

The walk is silent and short, with Selene humming the tune of Fly Me To The Moon as they go, however Poe's mind is anything but peaceful.

He doesn't understand why he agreed to this, to go on a date. He'll be the first to admit that despite his age, he doesn't truly have much experience in regards to romance, having spent most of his recent life busy with his work, making the city a better place to live.

However, therein lies the problem. He is twenty-four years older than Selene, and while many of his close friends have pushed him towards making this decision, he still isn't sure if it was the right one.

Simmons even had the gall to excuse the very reason for Selene's probation as 'love clouding the mind'. But his old friend has been trying to get him to take a break for years now, so it's no real surprise.

Either way, Poe has been upfront with Selene. He's told her how this is just a trial run, to see if there could be something more between them. Speaking honestly, Poe isn't sure which outcome he'd prefer.

Just because he has been to busy to focus on romance, doesn't mean he does not want to experience it. Everyone wants to feel love, and at the very least, he can be confident that Selene loves him.

Thankfully, she is reasonable and suggested that he be the one to push the boundaries of their relationship, so he can be sure that it's what he wants.

Soon enough however, they reach the restaurant they were aiming for, fairly high class, but nothing overly expensive. Modest, would be the best way to describe it, but still with a nice romantic ambience.

They are led to their reserved table without any fuss and are immediately poured a glass of wine each. Poe doesn't know enough about wine to tell if it's fancy or cheap, but he appreciates it nonetheless.

Thanks to them reserving the spot, they don't have to wait to order, as their chosen meals are already being prepared, leaving them able to move straight to conversation.

Only, Poe has no idea what to say.

"I'm glad you agreed to this, my dear Edgar," Selene starts, saving him the trouble, "I admit, I was worried my ah, forwardness, would have turned you away."

Feeling slightly awkward, Edgar decided to just be honesty, as he does genuinely want to give her a chance, even if also thinks it's a bad idea, and any relationship built without honesty is doomed to fail.

He'd hate to prove her right about tragedies after all of this.

"To be frank, it did, at least a little bit. I'm fairly used to people looking fondly upon me as an idea, but less so as a person. That, and your way of showing affection at the beginning was rather troublesome."

He worries that she might get upset, but thankfully she takes his referencing of her crimes in good humour, smiling with nostalgia.

"Yes, and I apologise again for that. I was just so 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 that I was right, and every day that went by where you proved me wrong, well it made for poor decision making. But it all turned out well in the end, no?"

"I suppose it did," Edgar responds with a light chuckle, just in time for a pair of servers to arrive with food.

"One lasagne for the Sir," one server says as he places Edgar's meal before him, while the other one covers the table with the sides, also refilling their drinks and leaving the bottle, "and one rare steak for the Ms."

Mouth watering at the intoxicating smell of the garlic bread, Edgar waits for the servers to leave before attempting to restart conversation, only for words to once again fail him.

In the end, he says the first thing that comes to mind, "I'm not sure if I've ever actually had steak rare, I usually have it well done instead."

Once again, he feels thankful for the woman's patience as she doesn't seem at all perturbed by his verbal stumbling, simply responding with the same smile as she cuts off a piece and offers it to him.

"I find that it is easier to sink my teeth into rarer meats, would you like to try?"

With a smile of his own, he accepts the gesture, as juvenile as it feels to do so, and finally feels his shoulders relax as the two of them share pleasant conversation between bites.

They talk about anything and everything, from how her new job is going and what she and her new friends have been getting up to, especially going into great detail on Pitfalls repeatedly poor first dates, to what he has been doing, or what hobbies he has outside of his job, which he admits there are few.

The nice is peaceful and enjoyable for them both, ending with him walking her home and sharing nothing more than a kiss on the cheek. In the end, Edgar is happy, and decides that maybe he will give her a proper chance.

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A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

So romantic~

And poor Pitfall, she and Shortcut haven't even got names yet but we already know that Pitfall has nothing but bad first dates and Shortcut has something of an unrequited crush, how cruel is fate.

Though, in defence of her dates, it's also largely her own fault, as her standards are way too high. And also, it is not a love triangle. Two people liking each other and then a third liking one of them isn't a triangle, it's just two straight lines.

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