Cross-dominance [Digital Devil Saga, David/Jenna, PG]

[lurk-stiltzkin.livejournal.com]

Title: Cross-dominance
Rating: PG
Warning: DDS2 spoilers
Prompt: 3 - Digital Devil Saga, David/Jenna: first impressions, social awkwardness, getting off on the wrong foot - "Can we start over? I'm bad at this."
Word count: 645
Summary: Despite the full knowledge of his life will never get normal anymore, David's first reaction to Jenna is to spill coffee on her laptop.

Balancing a cup of hot espresso in one hand and his research notes in the other proved to be quite a feat for David. Lately his left hand had developed some kind of inflexibility, soreness in the joints that he suspected of being emergent from a carpal tunnel. But David has always used his mouse with his right hand, and the result of his x-ray was superb. Biopsy was a considerable choice, but the rigidity has been spreading up to his wrist instead of going deeper. For the very least, he suspected, the lack of pain meant it wasn’t bone tumor.

David had been planning to attend the seminar of ‘Telomerase as core of new work on aging and cancer’ when they literally ran into each other. Her laptop and various notes – which he later found out was to be used as a media representation crackled and fizzled when the black liquid oozed into the parts.

Needless to say, after scowling at her watch and David for a good five seconds, she stormed away angrily with a loud tap of her high heels on the marble floor.

There’s a new thesis titled ‘Reproduction and Cloning process on Hermaphrodites’ written by Jenna Angel mixed in his notes when David reached his apartment later that night.

The next week, when he ran into her again, David has been planning to apologize. This time she’s dressed in a beige blouse and jeans, her handbag hanging in one arm. Without her lab coat, she looked almost harmless. When he approached her, raising his voice above the station’s noises for a greeting, she looked partly annoyed and surprised.

“Is this your way of hitting on women?” Her voice was a tad quieter than the subway’s screeching wheels, and David found himself straining his ears to actually hear. “Because you’re doing a very bad job at it.”

“I’m really sorry about your laptop, so is there anything I can do for you, Miss Angel?”

The scrutinizing look that she gave him seemed to mentally conclude him as a stalker; and David was quickly prompted to pull out her thesis from his bag. Pure bliss wasn’t exactly materializing from Jenna Angel’s face, but she let out a small smile anyway and muttered a quick thanks.

When she turned on her heels to leave and board the train, something inside David screamed I’m not gonna see her again. For the first time in many years, he was desperate.

“I really like your thesis!”

Some of the passengers who cared enough looked up from their daydreams and cellphones in curiosity, but most remained petulantly ignorant. Angel, however, looked over her shoulder to turn her full attention on him.

Despite the full knowledge of his life would never get normal anymore, David almost stammered, cursing himself mentally for acting like a bumbling teenager, “Look, can we start over? I’m bad at this.”

For a heart stopping instant, there’s a moment of hesitation as she stood on the platform, eyes fixated somewhere, at the ad blinking behind him, at the child curiously watching their banter, everywhere but him.

But much to his surprise, she walked back, letting the subway’s door slid close behind her with a loud beep. On a closer look, she’s actually a feet shorter than him. “I’m David Gale.”

She offered her hand and he shook it with his good one, and under the station’s dim lighting, David witnessed Angel’s first real smile and for the moment he forgot about biopsy procedures and MRIs and x-rays and appointments with the oncologist and direct morphine injections. David wondered where she kept all those strength stored and if he’ll be lost forever if he kept staring into her eyes.

“Jenna Angel – and as long as you’re not buying me a cup of coffee, I’m willing to go and talk anywhere."