Friday Afternoon and Evening- Mainland

[anomaly_research_nerd]

It had been a busy day for Connor already, and he hadn't even had a class to deal with like Cutter had. But he DID have a lot to keep busy with to make sure everything today went according to plan.

After their talk last week, Connor had made arrangements for a little day trip to the mainland. He had something special planned and had somehow managed to keep it a secret from Cutter until now. He looked down at the pamphlet to the small museum he had found.

It sounded like someplace Cutter would enjoy. Connor just hoped he was right and resisted the urge to fiddle with his gloves as he waited for Cutter to meet him so they could catch the portal he had set up for them.



(For that guy. That they met to go on a date is okay but rest once they catch their portal is, of course, NFB due to distance.)

Comments

[itsananomaly]

Cutter was a lot more nervous about this than he thought he would be, it had been a really long time since he’d been a proper date, actually it might have been one of the few times he and Stephen had tried to make it work with them and that had been at least a year or so ago.

He was also a little nervous about the portals still but Connor seemed to trust them.

He also had no idea what he was even meant to wear since he didn’t know what Connor was planning and had gone with jeans and a collard shirt to be on the safe side.

“Hey,” he smiled as he arrived at the spot Connor had arranged to meet him, “I didn’t keep you waiting, did I?”

It was one of the few times that Cutter was ever going to be worried about keeping someone waiting.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"Hey, Nick!" Connor said, a grin instantly spreading across his face. "Not at all, I was early," he said as he reached out to pull Cutter into a hug.

And at that moment, Connor felt a wave of relief. He had shown up. Not that he thought Cutter was going to stand him up or anything but... well, he had about as good a track record with the whole dating thing as Cutter did. So, kinda hard not to be a little worried.

[itsananomaly]

Cutter relaxed at that as let himself be pulled into the hug, “I wasn’t sure, I didn’t want you to think this was like our seminar classes and I wasn’t going to turn up,” he admitted.

Even though at that point he hadn’t even known who Connor had been, what a difference nearly two years made.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"Well, I got your number now too... and I know where ya live so," Connor said with a smirk. "Kinda hard to totally ghost me."

"So, ya ready to do this?" he asked, looking at Cutter with a nod, knowing how unsure he was still about the whole portal traveling and all. "Wanna take a look at where we're going while we go? Little distraction for yourself?" Connor held out the pamphlet with a grin

[itsananomaly]

Cutter smiled at that, “that’s true, if something had come up I would have at least tried to let you know,”

His smile widened as he looked at the pamphlet Connor was holding, he had definitely been wondering where Connor would take him, “may I?” he asked, reaching his hand out for the pamphlet.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

Connor nodded and handed it over. He watched Cutter closely, trying to gauge his reaction and hoping he had made a good choice. Or this was going to end up being a very short and very awkward date otherwise.

[itsananomaly]

Cutter took the pamphlet and looked it over as soon as he saw where Connor was taking him, he smiled, “oh this looks fantastic,” he looked up at Connor, “we’re going to see palaeontology and archaeology collections?”

Good luck getting him to leave once he got there Connor.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"Aye. Arranged it and we have private access to both collections for the afternoon" Connor said, the grin on his face showing how relieved he was that Cutter seemed excited. He had to admit he was pretty interested in seeing the collections too.

[itsananomaly]

Cutter’s expression lit up at that, “our own tour?” there was every chance that Cutter was going to be the one giving the tour and not the poor guide assigned to them.

“This is perfect, thank you,” he smiled, not feeling as nervous now.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"Even got us some time with the collections ourselves," Connor said with a delighted grin at seeing Cutter's reaction. "They evidently have some hands-on displays and exhibits too, so we get to play around with those if we'd like."

Connor grinned and held out his hand for Cutter. "Shall we then?" he asked with a nod towards their portal.

[itsananomaly]

“Oh that does sound like fun,” Cutter grinned as he reached out to take Connor’s hand, “yes, please I’m really looking forward to this, it’s been a while since I’ve been on a date,” he admitted.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"That makes two of us. But here's to the first of many more to come." Connor gave the hand he was holding a squeeze and a moment later they were walking out of the portal on the island and onto the mainland, just a block or so away from the museum.

"See, ya survived," he said with a grin as he nudged Cutter's shoulder slightly still holding his hand.

[itsananomaly]

Cutter had maybe closed his eyes while he was clinging to Connor’s hand as they went through the portal.

“So we did,” he said as he opened them at that nudge, seeing that they made it to their destination and nothing seemed to change, “that wasn’t too bad,” he admitted as he looked behind them where the portal had closed.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"They really are quite handy things... when you can control when they show up and where they lead to. You get used to them," he said, still holding Cutter's hand in his. This was nice. Very nice. "And I could really get used to this" he said with a grin as he gave Cutter's hand a squeeze and started leading them down the street.

[itsananomaly]

“So could I,” Cutter smiled down at Connor’s hand as he happily started to follow him down the street, “this is really nice,”

Well it hadn’t taken long for that word to reappear again had it?

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"If we manage to pull ourselves away from the exhibits in time, I found a place to grab dinner before we head back" Connor said as they walked. "And if not, it'll be a good excuse for another visit right?"

Connor couldn't keep the grin off his face, not that he wanted to. It was hard to believe it was two tears ago he knew Cutter as only a professor at the university. Things could really change.... And for the better!

[itsananomaly]

Cutter smiled brightly at that, “oh, what place did you find for dinner?” he asked curiously, “even though spending more time at the museum sounds great as well,”

“I’m really glad we’re doing this,” he added, his smile widening.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"A nice little Italian place just a few blocks down from the museum. Looked like they have a good variety so figured would be an easy place to grab something while still keeping it a little classier than fast-food" Connor said hoping it was a safe choice for a possible dinner.

[itsananomaly]

Now Cutter was a little torn, on the one hand he did like the idea of spending as much time with Connor at the museum but dinner at an Italian restaurant also sounded nice.

“I do like the sound of Italian,” he admitted, “it’s been a while since I’ve had it,”

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"We'll play it by ear. And we can always come back and look a the collections again," Connor offered. "This doesn't have to be a one time only deal."

Awwww look at them, possibly making recurring date night plans? So cute.

[itsananomaly]

It was very cute.

Cutter smiled at that, “I do like the sound of that and …” his smile widened, “especially coming back for more visits, I’m sure we could make multiple trips ,” he added, tilting his head a bit at that.

[anomaly_research_nerd]

"Most definitely.... between the museums, zoos, aquariums and everything else, I daresay there'd be plenty to keep us busy just here in the state" Connor said brightly. He may (totally did) have done some research before settling on this place. So there was quite a list of other options they could work through.

"It's interesting, isn't it?" Connor said after a moment's pause as they walked. "Spent several years dealing with different times separated by thousands and millions of years, totally different realities... yet the best one by far was one that looked almost identical to the one I knew. Save for one, very very special difference," Connor said as he gave Cutter's hand a squeeze and looked at him with a grin.

[itsananomaly]

Cutter definitely liked the sound of all those trips and he squeezed Connor’s hand in response, going slightly red as he did.

He smiled warmly, “I never thought any of this could ever be possible, thank you, it’s …I don’t think I can even put into words how much this does mean to me, being here with you,”

[anomaly_research_nerd]

Oh Cutter, if you only knew how unthinkable all this was for Connor just a few short months ago....

"I think I have an idea at least," he said with a grin as he pulled Cutter closer and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before stopping.

"Looks like we're here" he said nodding toward the small museum in front of them. "Shall we?"

[itsananomaly]

Cutter’s cheeks went red as Connor pulled him in to kiss his cheek and he just smiled happily at him for a few moments before turning his attention to the museum, “let’s go inside,” he smiled back at Connor with a nod.