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There's been a phone call this morning, a trace of something less than the cool and collected in Thea's voice as she'd invited Carol to meet her for lunch. The younger blonde is already waiting at a table, blonde hair a tumble of golden waves over the graphite gray of her sweater that compliments the paler gray of her skirt. She's sipping from a glass of water, when she's not toying with her simple golden disc pendant that echoes in the small hoops of her ears. There's a menu before her, but it would be rude to order before her compatriot arrives.
Carol arrives right on time, walking to the restaurant in her normal attire… though with an added blue parka for the fact that it is the day after Christmas. She smiles over at Thea, projecting reassurance and confidence as she sits down across from her fellow blonde, "Hey, Merry After-Christmas. What's going on?" She tilts her head, looking at Thea with a curious expression as she cuts right to the point.
There's a chuckle. "Merry After Christmas." She'll sip at water, brown eyes averting a moment. "Okay, so you know I got recruited by.. a certain organization. Well, I was there, doing what I do, met this adorable blonde with a smart mouth. He made me laugh, I made him paranoid, it was a good day." Thea's talking a little faster than usual, perhaps. "Flirting, the usual, not much of it. Well, see.." This is where she pauses, taking a deep breath. "There's someone I've been kinda seeing. " Hands fold together in front of her on the table as she falls silent. She'll order wine for herself, and more water for Carol, before the waiter walks away. "For.. months now. Very.. I don't want to say casual, as there's sex involved. He.. understands me. All the sides of me." There's weight to that.
Carol blinks, then smiles, "Oh, well, see, I was hoping you were being chased by HYDRA agents, that's way easier for me to handle." She winks, then grins, "Okay, so you're comfortable with this other guy, but this new person feels a lot more than just possibly comfortable?" She quirks a bit of a grin, waiting for Thea to give her more details.
Thea blushes hotly, giving Carol a mock glare. "Those guys don't know I exist. I'm just the bandage girl, who fixes up adorable archers when they bust their face open." There's an aggravated sigh, falling quiet as water and wine are delivered. Yes, she's drinking at lunch. Shh. "I'm way more than comfortable with him. He gets it. He's never tried to push or nudge me in the direction he thinks I should go. I could do whatever I thought I had to, and he wouldn't judge." There's a flap of her hand, a non-graceful and completely undignified gesture from Thea in a place she's usually so well mannered. "Adorable blonde guy probably flirts with anything in a skirt. I shouldn't feel special over that. I mean.. men flirt with me. Not a big deal. This one made me laugh - which stuck out in my head. He made me feel useful at… that organization we associate with." There's that sip of wine, eyes closing a moment.
"I was telling Lo— the other gentleman in my life about it. Now.. we've kept it very cool, you know? Stop by, have a drink, maybe more, what have you. I.. I didn't push, because when we met I was dating someone else. I thought he had other ladies too, you know? He.. kinda got a little jealous. Which totally threw me off." Throw her in a battle, and she doesn't turn a hair. This? This has her completely discombobulated.
Carol smiles, "Oh dear… well, Clint is definitely a charmer, that's for sure." She chuckles quietly, and looks at Thea with a wry expression, "Sounds like your casual friend with benefits is looking to be more than just friends with benefits. Is that something you'd want to do, though? Because at this point, you sound pretty cool with each other." She grins a bit at the glare, having coffee delivered for her drink, which she sips to help warm up from the chill air.
"He totally is, and I think he'd be a ton of fun to go out with, but.." Thea shakes her head. "That's not likely." Fingers twist her wine glass around and around on the table, before she's looking Carol dead in the eye. "Carol, I've been sweet on him for /months/. I just.. he's a very independent sort, and like I said, I thought he had other women he was… friends with." She starts to gnaw against her bottom lip, before remembering her lipstick. Vanity has its purposes. "So I just.. gave him space, more than I wanted to really, because I didn't want to mess it up. But he told me last night he hasn't had any other ladies in a while.. and I've flirted, of course, but there hasn't been any dates or anything in ages." She lifts her glass for a long swallow. "The problem isn't him calling me his girl. I.. I've never been anyone's actual girl before, is the problem."
Carol hrms, "Well, first off, don't think of it as being 'someone's girl'. That just gets you going on the wrong foot." She grins, "I'm not exactly the best one to ask, considering my relationship history. Granted, Bruce and I have a good thing going right now, but it took a while for me to get there." She pauses, and looks over at Thea, "Best advice I can give you, is just be patient, be open, and don't hold back." She raises her coffee cup to Thea, and winks, "Salud." And then she sips the coffee.
"Carol. He said it, I just.. being his girl isn't like being any other man's woman. He's.. older." There's a hint of a snicker, a grin that disappears behind her wine glass. "He has no delusions that me agreeing to be in a relationship with him is going to stop me from doing anything I do already. He's.. evolved enough to encourage me, even. He knows about our.. organization. Apparently had or has ties to it. We can't talk about anything to do with it of course.." There's a smirk there. " I mean.. he's never spent the night with me before, at my place. Do I encourage that now, versus always at his? Carol, patience? Me?" There's another laugh. "I've been patient for months. He's the only time it's ever been easy to be."
There's a lean on the table with a forearm. "I did see your Bruce the other day, at the mansion. Such a charmer. Of course, he's completely enchanted with me… for my powers." It seems a day for snickering. "I don't know what you mean by being open, exactly. "
Carol hmms, "Well, sounds like you already got it handled. But well, if you want him over, you should have him over? It sounds like you're willing to at least try to take it to the next step." She grins, "Yeah, Bruce is a /real/ charmer… at least he is once you get past the grim exterior anyway." Her voice drops a bit and she does a passable imitation of Batman as she says, "I AM THE NIGHT and all that stuff."
"I don't though. I mean, do I change how I do anything? Am I expected to call him more, or see him more, or what? I mean, flirting's not an issue, he expects that. I.." There's a breath forced out. "The only close thing I ever had was dating a guy in high school, who made my mother happy, and totally left me alone. He wasn't… interested in me. Warren and I had something building, but then he..went away." Hands rest on the tablecloth. " I need to eat, and drink more wine. I'm just letting myself get terrified. Over Logan of all people." She snorts at herself.
"See, your Bruce is never grim with me. Maybe I'm just lucky. I generally see him around you, which probably helps. Last time it was probably just the sandwich talking."
Carol chuckles, "I think you're just building things up too much in your head, honestly. Relax and let things flow naturally. Trust me, you're overthinking it." She winks at Thea, "Sounds like you and Logan are happy, and if you're happy, that's going to settle most things right there."
"Overthinking is a bad habit of mine. I mean.. is it enough to let it be, though? Just let things be like they are, and not change things?" She pales a touch, hearing Carol say his name. She hadn't meant to slip. "I mean, I know you won't, but you'll not tell anyone else, right?"
Carol winks, "It's a secret safe with me." She pantomimes zipping her lips shut, then tossing away the zipper, then chuckles, "Well, you could let it be… but you might be missing out Thea. In the end, the only one that could make that decision is you."
"I mean just let things keep moving along the way they were. You don't change the routine, do you, just because .. you've gone exclusive?" Poor Carol. If only Thea spoke to her mother in more than empty pleasantries!
Carol nods, "Well, you don't have to change the routine, no. Though it can be fun to mix it up a little bit." She chuckles, "My dating life has been pretty much always being exclusive if only because I'm so busy I rarely have time for one relationship, much less multiple ones, so I might not be the best to ask. Still, I think you've got a pretty good grasp on it."
Thea arches an eyebrow. "I don't have time for a lot of things. But you know what I mean. Official, I guess. Jesus, I can only imagine my mother if I brought him home." There's more laughter before she'll hand her menu to a waiter, ordering.. well, a lot of food for one lady.
Carol Danvers grins and orders a steak, medium-rare, then shrugs, "Well… between our common employers and my night life… it can get tricky to put it mildly. Though I think Bruce's butler isn't quite sure what to make of me. I think he's a little nervous about my driving." Clearly Alfred hasn't seen what Bruce does with the Batmobile when he's not around.
Thea sips wine idly, watching Carol talk about Bruce. "At least we have men who understand we have careers, and they can take a hike if they complain about it?" There's a hint of a smile. "Upside I just made a note of. Logan has no butler."
Carol laughs, "Well, there you go. Though I guess now I've got a rep as a gold-digger between Bruce and then that… thing with Tony." She makes a face, then shakes her head a bit, "Ah well, it just kinda worked out that way I guess. Honestly, I'm really enjoying how it's going. Which is weird… I keep waiting for something to happen."
Thea rolls her eyes. "Because two men who happen to be rich, found a gorgeous, intelligent, heroic woman attractive? Oh, the horror." The sarcasm is thick in Thea's voice. "I mean.. let's be honest, I'm not poor, no matter how I choose to live. Logan's bewildered by why I want to be with him. It's in part because none of that nonsense matters to him."
Carol grins, "Well, good. Sounds like you're happy with him, so I think you got things handled. Despite what you might think." She winks, then laughs a bit, "Yeah, because I care so much about money I work for a government paycheck and haven't taken a job as Bruce's security chief. Which he's offered." She grins wryly, "Would be tempting but… I like doing what I do."
Thea flushes. "I guess there's a reason I never more than flirted. Though part of me does still wonder what asking Clint out would lead to." There's a sharp, swift grin. "And you know.. you shouldn't date your boss."
Carol chuckles, "Yeah, that's the other reason I haven't said yes to Bruce's offer of a job. Figured it'd be easier if I didn't have to see him all the time." She grins, "And Clint is a charmer, that's for sure. But I think you're better with what you've got right now."
"You might get sick of him, no matter how handsome his face." Thea agrees, smirking as she sits back. "Oh, no doubt. It doesn't mean I don't wonder. Because he's the sort of guy that would be an interesting date, I think." She toys with the napkin in her lap. "In other new, I'm working on trying to see about opening a clinic in Mutant town."
Carol grins, "Really? That's great news. They definitely can use all the help they can get over that way." She hmms a bit, "Just general practice, or are you specializing in something there?"
Thea laughs. "I'm not a doctor, Carol. I'm just a nurse." There's a little flutter of lashes, there, a smirk. "Just somewhere people can come to get help. Somewhere that they can get healed, and seen and not stared at. Sometimes feeling like you're not a freak is pretty healing in its own way."
Carol nods, "And that's a fair point. Though I have to think having more doctors that were women would also help." She makes a bit of a face, then shrugs a little and sips her coffee. "But that definitely sounds like a good project to get started, Thea."
Thea flicks a look at Carol from under her lashes. "You do know why I'm not a doctor, right? Nurses spend more time. So I get to do more." Thea falls silent as food arrives, and as the table next to them is seated, she'll keep it to light small talk.