"One day I'll spend time figuring out your tells so I'll know when you're screwing with me. Today is not that day." Alia rolls her eyes, mentally running through for any reports of the same crime anyway.

Alia can't hide her own smirk as she decides to get back at Anetta, "Picking a girl up at a concert and asking her to dinner. Pretty smooth... So where're you taking me?"

Anetta snickers. "Good luck with that, then." She pauses, glancing down at Alia and blushing a bit. "It's not like that, and you know it. I'm-- I figured you needed to get out, and I definitely did. That's all. We're going to a steak place I like."

"Isn't it?" Alia grins up at her, head still against Anetta's arm. "You saw I have having as bad a time as you, struck up a conversation, and invited me out to di-" Her stomach growls loudly interrupting her teasing, her entire face flushing red. "Steak s-sounds great."

Anetta rolls her eyes. "Nobody should suffer what those bands were doing to metal music. That's all, no special interest in you specifically. That's the problem with heroes, they all think they're the most important thing in the universe." She smirks and bumps Alia. "That was a joke, by the way."

"Right, that's supposed to be music, I keep forgetting." She nods slowly in agreement, shoulders falling as Anetta goes on about Heroes, at least until she clarifies the joke. "As your arch-nemesis I take offense to that! There's plenty out there more important, like being taken out to steak dinner!"

She snorts and heads into the restaurant. "Sure, if you say so." She heads up to the host's stand. "Two, please." She hums and pulls out some cash. "Booth, maybe somewhere a bit quieter." She slides the host a bill, and his eyebrows go up slightly as he not-so-discretely pockets it.

"Of course. It'll be about a ten minute wait for you ladies."

She grunts her acknowledgement and moves to lean against a wall right next to the waiting bench.

"Subtlety, thy name is Anetta." Alia snickers as she leans beside her not!date, "A quiet booth huh? Planning on making a surprise attack while I'm distracted with dinner? Or maybe he's in on it, I'm going to be poisoned!" She dramatically throws an arm over there face and leans against Anetta. "The subterfuge..."

Anetta smirks. "Let's just say they know how to accommodate people here." She shrugs. "This lets us talk business without people eavesdropping, if that's what we want to do." She gingerly wraps an arm around Alia and lets out a soft sigh as she closes her eyes.

"Human contact is nice," she murmurs.

"Ah, you've brought me a den of villainy, will I be sworn to secrecy for anything I overhear?" She giggles, her muscles tensing for a second as Anetta's arm drapes over her before leaning against her side.

"It is, especially in doses that we have control over. You're warm."

"It's not a den of villainy, it's just a place where I like to come to, and they're willing to put you in a quiet booth if you ask nicely." She squeezes. "You're really warm, too. I haven't had a lot of physical contact in a while." She opens her eyes and looks down at Alia.

"This is weird."

"Sure just kill my fun." Alia huffs, letting her head thunk against Anetta. "Me either, I have issues with touching. It's nice to be able to meet my guard down." Alia tilts her head back, looking up at Anetta and letting her continue.

"Hmm?"

"Touch issues, yeah..." She sighs and shrugs. "Just... Hugging. You. Is weird. Considering the nature of our relationship." She chuckles. "I may put you in the hospital next week, after this."

"Most people like us probably have touch issues, huh?" Alia closes her eyes and leans her head against Anetta again. "You don't have to it it bothers you, considering..." She was going to make a joke when Anetta said relationship, but thought better of it in the seriousness of the moment. "I'm tough, you'd have to do a lot to put me in the hospital."

Anetta grunts, gives a firm squeeze, and shrugs. "I could probably do it if I wanted to. Really put my mind to it. You're lucky I don't want to." She lets go and steps back as the host waves them over. She follows him quietly through the restaurant to an area with only a few people, and smiles as he puts them in a corner booth.

"So, what does Alia do in her free time?"

Alia slides into the booth, still leaning on Anetta once they're settled. "I'm glad you don't want to, domestics are always the hardest to explain." She smirks at her own joke.

"I read books, watch anime and movies, work on my designs... Alia doesn't really do anything interesting. I'm still getting to know my new coworkers, so there isn't much to do." She looks up at Anetta, "What does Anetta do?"

"Why'd you sit on the same side as me?" Anetta snorts and nudges her. "Psychopath."

She shakes her head. "What the fuck is anime? I go to concerts, read history books, watch horror movies. Nothing too interesting."

Alia looks down at the table and scoots herself to be sitting across from Anetta. "Sorry."

"Anime is animation from Japan, it's a specific style. Some of the older stuff from before superpowers is really creative." She explains, "If all the concerts are like that one, I feel bad for your choice of hobby."

She waves a hand dismissively. "Just wanna be able to talk to you without craning my neck." She shrugs and leans on the table. "So you watch Japanese cartoons. Sure, alright."

A soft, derisive snort escapes her. "No, concerts I go to are usually way fucking better than that. Real mosh pits, real bands, real metal."

"That's fair, wouldn't want to get a crik in your neck. It may take some work to fix, with those bones of steel."

"So a concert for our third date then? Show me what a real one is supposed to be like." She snorts, "Anime isn't that bad "

"Didn't say it was bad. I said sure, alright. I don't get it, but you do you." She shrugs.

"We can go to a concert sometime. Not sure who might be playing in Denver anytime soon, but we can give it a shot."

"I will, but I will also admit that some of it is awful. The fan service is worse than some of the corporate teams out there."

"We'll figure something out!" Alia giggles, "Can't help but notice you didn't deny it was a date." She teases, comfortable with Anetta despite the professional relationship.

She smirks and shrugs. "Going on dates with a hero is prestigious, the opportunity to slowly corrupt them over time. A hero dating a villain? That's bad, that makes the hero and her whole organization come under question. So you're the one getting the short end of the stick.

Alia feigns a gasp, throwing an arm over her face. "I knew I was just a game to you, was what we had not special? Think of the sandwiches we shared!" She opens one eye to stare at Anetta, "A Villain dating a Hero impacts her street cred, makes her look soft. Like she's going to stop purse snatchers." Alia snickers.

"Nah." Anetta shakes her head. "Villains dating heroes is kind of a thing in villain circles. But heroes dating villains, society frowns on that. It's hilarious."

"I guess we'll have to find out, which of us will sway the other to the side of righteousness first!" Alia smiles, propping herself up on one hand while holding the other out to Anetta. "Maybe we'll prove society wrong."

Anetta considers, then nods and takes the hand. "Maybe we will. Or maybe I'll get to drag you down to my level and turn you evil."

"Me, evil? You haven't put up with me long enough if you think that'll happen. Remember how we met? Hero of Justice and all that." She gives Anetta's hand a squeeze. "Does this make us girlfriends?"

"Let's not label it. We can go on these little dates and stuff, and then the next day we can try and knock each other's teeth out. Pretty toxic relationship, actually." She shrugs slightly and moves to rest her hand on the table, still holding Alia's. "That work for you?"

"Rather abusive, I like my teeth where they are. Try for broken bones instead?" Alia nods, "I'm good with no labels. I'll just tell Zipdash I'm seeing somebody and we don't know what it is yet. Little dates sound good, exchange real numbers for next time? Oh! I can text you when I wake up and annoy you to no end."

She scoffs. "Your boss needs to know your relationship status?" She pulls her phone out. "Don't worry about waking me up. If my brain deems it unimportant, I just go right back to sleep."

"My best friend needs to know my relationship status." Alia huffs, getting her own phone out. "If I deem it unimportant I just let half my brain keep sleeping, it's very handy. Unfortunately anybody who has my number is important."

"Your boss is your best friend. That's the saddest goddamn thing I've ever heard." Anetta shakes her head and sends a text to Alia. "You and me, mall date, Friday? I need to get some new shirts, my power can sometimes fuck them up."

"It's not that bad..." Alia pouts, "We've been through a lot together, we go to every endbringer together." She sends a reply back to Anetta, a little smiley face. "Mall date sounds great! I should probably buy some new clothes, I didn't bring a lot down with me."

"Good, that works for me." She smiles a bit and leans her elbows on the table. "I'm going to give you fair warning: I've never dated anyone before. I might be a bit bad at romance."

"I've never dated anybody either, so we can learn as we go. I haven't really had a normal life, I've been a Hero for most of it." Alia smirks back, "Guess we'll see which of us is worse, huh?"

"Sure." Anetta smiles slightly. "I don't mind that. Let's order food?"