Connor lounged at the edge of a large boulder which jutted out of the earth, from where he sat he had a decent view of Pittsburg as the sun began to rise over it. Absent-mindedly, he gnawed on the leg bone of a buck he'd felled that morning. There was a lot on his mind, but he chose to ignore it, allowing himself to enjoy a moment of quiet and peace. That was until his phone buzzed. He never expected the thing to ever get much use, but he'd been called and messaged more times in the last few months. He pulled it out and looked at the screen, he froze and dropped the bone he was gnawing on. There was Lapis' name, wasn't the first time she's messaged him, usually it was just telling him she was on her way, or that he should stop whatever he was doing to come... well do her. But that wasn't that.
Hey there, big guy. Want to get dinner with me tonight?
Connor's whole body bloomed with heat and his heart felt like it was going to burst, it was like he had just spotted a prime prey target, but rather than hunger, rage, and anticipation. This was excitement, nervousness, happiness. He nearly dropped the phone with how quickly he went to reply, smashing his fingers into the buttons to reply with a "YES"
He spent the next few moments practically bouncing up and down waiting for her reply, he didn't have to wait long before she replies. "Okay, great. Meet me at the Diamond at 6. Don’t be late". Connor quickly replied with an "OKAY"
Connor hopped to his feet, he couldn't help the smile on his face and the manic energy which filled him. He took off running in the woods, running all the way back to his cabin and sprinting circles around it. This was different, so very different, this was... a date, a real date. Not another addition to a long series of one-night stands. Connor slowed down to a stop, but the excitement didn't leave him. This feeling was unknowable, he didn't know where it came from or why he felt it, it was almost scary. But right now he didn't care, he just wanted to be with Lapis, and this... this was confirmation that she wanted to spent time with him too.
He'd been about to immediately start running off towards Diamond before Connor paused and looked at the text again. In a moment of clarity, he realized that Lapis didn't mean 6 in the morning, which was an hour from now. She likely meant 6 in the afternoon, which made a lot more sense for dinner. He tapped his foot rapidly on the ground in anxious anticipation, before an idea came to his mind.
It took most of the day to get what he needed, but eventually Connor was either able to find or steal the flowers he needed. Eventually he had a large bouquet of flowers. It consisted of Asters, red Carnations, Daffodils, a healthy amount of Lime Blossoms, but an even greater amount of Narcissus', Red Roses, Peony, Gerberas, and Coral Rose. He wrapped this carefully after considering each flower choice, deciding to cut down on the Lime Blossoms and adding some Blue Orchids. He wrapped them in parchment and carefully kept them in water until he was ready.
He had also spent some time scouring local shops for new clothing and was able to make away with a pair of jeans that were black and sort of looked like dress pants, a flannel shirt that was mostly white in pattern, he even found deodorant that didn't offend his nose. He spent the hours leading up to the time carefully washing himself in a river more thoroughly than he ever had in his life, his soap that he'd gotten smelt of sea salt and eucalyptus. Likewise, he scrubbed until he couldn't smell any of the wet dog smell, and he then scented himself with his usual combination of aromatics. After that, he spent a long time brushing his hair and beard until they shined with a glossy quality, but he couldn't quite get his hair to lay flat like he'd seen other men wear their hair. He eventually gave up.
Mac and Brian stood off staring at Connor as he got dressed, he'd made sure no blood or dirt was still on him, even his boots he'd cleaned. He looked up at the dogs, both of whom stared at him with tilted heads.
"Do I look okay?" Connor asked. Brian wagged his tail, but Mac gave a concerned yip.
"You have no taste," he waved them off dismissively and picked up his bouquet. "You two don't wait up!"
He got into the car that Todd had lent him and took off at a speed that wasn't legal in most of the lower 48 states. He got to Diamond around twenty minutes before six. Connor got out, meaning initially to just go right up, but he hesitated. The anxiety of the situation hit him then, he tried to reason against it. He'd seen Lapis naked almost a dozen times now, a dinner shouldn't be weird. Why would it be weird? He wasn't weird. It wasn't as if he didn't distract himself, in his thoughts wandered to her at every waking moment and also in his dreams. It's not like every time she smiled or laughed, it made his heart ache. Why would this be weird they were just... what were they, the word Mate floated into Connor's mind again. The animal thought of her like that, but what did he think, what did she think? It had seemed like they would only see each other as bedmates up until now... but this was different, that was scary, different was scary. But also exciting.
Connor realized he had about six minutes left, so he grabbed his bouquet and made his way up to the staff door, he'd been leaving gifts for Lapis. Swallowing back his fear, he knocked in the door and waiting, trying not to fidget with his hair.
