puppycrush2 | week two

It's....... a diner.

Yep.

That's all it is.

They're dropped off at the diner so that they can get a table, and once they're seated, they're kind of left to their own devices. Yay!

Highlights:

- good food (?)
- good coffee (?)
- you can eavesdrop on your fellow customers if you really want

Uh... Do you think the producers knew they were doing work in here?

[No way, right? But as Kat beholds the few workers cleaning and fixing up the diner not too far away from their booth, she has to wonder.]

Maybe we should... [She trails off because she isn't really sure what she wants to suggest here. Maybe they should help out? Maybe they should go somewhere else. Neither option seems exactly right, though they're probably stuck here, and if she thinks too hard about helping she'll probably get roped into working as a waitress instead of eating a meal.]

[ man... what the hell. ]

They had to know. This must be some kind of stupid prank.

[ it's very noisy, and the whole diner smells vaguely of new flooring and burnt wood?? This is an awful spot for a date. Steve cranes his neck, trying to peek into the kitchen from their spot near the entrance. ]

Are they even open?

Maybe they booked the place way before... time is weird like that.

[She wouldn't be surprised if a lot of time passed between setting up a show like this and actually getting it off the ground. Kat looks around, searching for any sign of worker life that isn't trying to do renovations.]

Um, it looks like some other customers might be coming. [Or they might just be walking right by the front door; she can't tell because they haven't quite reached the place yet.] Should we go into the back and check on them?

[If he doesn't, she might just come out in uniform.]

[ yeah, he's not seeing anything. They're probably not supposed to go in the back, but it sounds a lot better than sitting out here while some guy screws a lightbulb in next to them. ]

Yeah, let's go check it out. C'mon.

[ this is more of an adventure, anyway! He glances surreptitiously at the construction guys to make sure none of them are going to yell at them, but, unsurprisingly, they're more concerned with doing what they paid for, so Steve beckons her along. ]

[It's almost like the workers don't notice them at all... Kinda spooky, really. If this was a different situation or a different kind of date, she might be worried that something spooky was waiting on the other end of the diner.

Kat trots after Steve, cupping her hands around to call out back toward the kitchen and manager office.]

Hellooo? Are you guys open?

[ they're of the same mind - after what happened before he got here, he's fully ready for a zombie to pop out of the kitchen. Fortunately, that doesn't happen. In fact, no one pops out of the kitchen! ]

... You might've been onto something with the producers not knowing.

[ with no one to stop him, he brazenly walks in. ]

The fryer's on, though... Huh.

Seriously? Um, isn't that kind of a fire hazard?

[Okay, maybe this is kind of creepy? Kat's not the kind of person to grab someone's arm in fear, but she does put her hand out toward Steve's arm in case she needs to pull him back from whatever monsters could be lurking at the back of a diner.]

Just call out if you need our help...! Steve, what do you think we should do? There could have been an emergency...

[Is that a bell from the front of the restaurant, or is it just another noise from the ongoing renovations? Kat perks up, but she can't tell.]

[ don't worry, kat, he will protect you. Too bad he doesn't have his lugers on him. They're empty, but he'd feel better with them, anyway. ]

Nah, I don't think so. I mean, the workers out front would've heard something, right? [ he turns towards her, only to see her looking nervous. ] Wait... Don't tell me you're scared?

[ his teasing is interrupted by the bell ringing from up front. Steve's brow furrows, and he cranes his neck to peer through the order window. ]

[They call him Steve Two Lugers, on account of...]

I am not scared! But if people are missing, there's probably something more than repairs going on!

[Kat's head pops up under his, looking through the same portal as she wedges herself under there.]

Aaah! They're sitting down! What do we do? I'll go tell them nobody's working... [She trots off to go steer the wayward customers back out onto the streets to find a real working restaurant... and trots back a couple of minutes later with a pen tucked behind her ear.]

They want two burgers with french fries, medium well, please!

[ he would have hit her with some "you're safe with me around"-type line if she hadn't immediately called out the people coming in. There goes his chance... Oh well. ]

They're sitting down with the place like this?! The burgers here must be really damn good.

[ Well, not his problem. He nods at Kat when she says she's going to go tell them it's a no-go; in the meantime, he pokes around in the kitchen like the nosy bastard he is. When she comes back, she'll find him with a snack-size bag of potato chips that he's already opened and started eating. They come very close to going on the floor when she opens her mouth. ]

They what? You took their orders?!

[She at least has the decency to look sheepish and give her bright (albeit somewhat embarrassed) little laugh.]

Um... Well... They said they've been walking a long time, and this is their last day in town... it was their grandparents' building and they've always wanted to eat in the new restaurant that was built here.

[How much of that is true is probably up for debate, but on the smallest chance that it's true, Kat can't just let them suffer like that.]

It's just two burgers, right? And fries!

[ how can this be happening.......... kat........ ]

Well -- do you know how to make burgers and fries?! You agreed, so you gotta, right?

[ he's never worked a fryolator in his life - he's only grilled burgers with his dad on the backyard grill a handful of times?! ]

Eheh... [Her slightly nervous chuckle probably betrays just how little experience Kat has operating either a grill or a fryer.] How hard could it be? If we work together, the two of us can probably manage everything...

And we can have our own lunch afterward!

[It's not a great situation, but she's trying to look on the bright side of it. Who knows... maybe the people on the date in the other room will realize they're going above and beyond and reward them!]

[ he has no idea where she's finding this optimism from, and he wishes he did, because he could use some. Right. Like she said: burgers, how hard could it be?? He's fought tyrants before - he can't cower in the face of burgers!! Is he slightly ticked off he has to do this instead of eat them? Maybe, but it's too late now. He throws up his hands. ]

Okay, okay, I guess we're doing this! It can't be that different from a normal grill, right? Where's the fridge?

[ he'll start with the burgers because the hot oil for deep frying is actually a little scary......... ]

Hm... Oh, looks like it's back here! Wow, it looks like all of their potatoes are cut fresh, even though there's a huge freezer!

[It's too bad the staff weren't actually here at the diner, Kat laments... they might have had a really good lunch. Well, they can always eat when they're done!]

What do you need? I can cut up all the veggies, too.

Ground beef!

[ he calls out. Should he put on an apron?? He'll do that now, if only so he doesn't ruin his clothes with any oil that might splatter. ]

You can slice up a tomato, I guess? Be careful with the potatoes, though. Those fryers'll melt your skin.

They'll do what? [That's way more intense than Kat had expected... now she has a new fear of fryers unlocked, courtesy of Steve.] But the basket has a really long handle, right?

[She laughs a little nervously. This kind of thing is absolutely not a secret strength of hers. But the tomato... she can handle that.

After some trial and error of looking through the marked butcher paper, she finally finds a package that looks right.]

I sure hope no one else comes in... [Someone else is bound to, at some point, but that's a problem for future them.] Have you ever worked in a diner, Steve?

Well, yeah, 'cause you gotta be careful!

[ that's engineering, babey!! He glances over at her, now clad in his fry cook apron. Very cool. Give him your meat, Kat. ]

Uh, no? I made burgers with my dad on the fourth of July a few times, but that's it. I'd be way less worried if I had experience.

week two | dates

kat & steve

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wait what if they BOTH end up working the diner for their date

people are gonna eat some burnt ass burgers.....

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