SUMMER HEARTS // Quackity X Reader

17

You needed a way to repay him. 

That day by in the little copse of trees had been something straight out of a dream, and just what you needed after  a busy day like that. You'd sat in the warm fresh air for hours, just listening to Alex play his guitar and talk about school and streaming, perfectly content and relaxed. That - along with many other smaller things that Alex had done - was the reason you asked Nieve and Reyes for help. 

You wanted to take him out to dinner to say thank you, and also because you really wanted to go on a relatively fancy dinner date with him. 

So Reyes told you about the restaurants in the area (they knew a lot of local places, as they had played them before) and Nieve helped you pick out an outfit and fix up your hair (of course - she was a queen of fashion) and you set the date with Alex, telling him it would be a surprise. 

Now, all you had to do was go pick him up.

You clutched at your phone and your wallet as you gave yourself one last once over in the mirror. You didn't really know why you were so nervous - it had been more than a month now that you and Alex had been unofficially dating, and you had spent plenty of time alone with him. Maybe it was that this was a fancier setting...

Either way, you had somewhere to be. 

You stepped out of your room and headed out into the living room, where Nieve and Reyes were cozied on the couch; all settled for a night in. Nieve smiled when she saw you. 

"You look so good!" She said. "You're going to have so much fun! If you both want to come back here for the night, we won't mind-"

"It's just dinner, Nieve." You said. "But thanks. And I'll text you if I need anything." 

You waved to them once more before heading out the door. You had agreed to meet up with Alex outside Nieve's apartment building, and he was sitting on the curb when you stepped outside, looking beautiful in the soft light of the sunset. 

"Hi." You said, a smile playing on your lips. 

Alex looked over his shoulder, and in catching sight of you, grinned. "You look amazing."

"So do you." He had cleaned up nicely - his hair pulled back into a small ponytail, a few strands free around his face. For once, he was wearing something other than a sweatshirt - a navy blue button down. He looked like someone you had dreamed up as the perfect boyfriend.

Alex pulled himself up off the curb and came to hold your hand instead, letting you lead the way down the street and towards the restaurant you had picked out. 

"So, where did you pick out?" Alex asked, swinging your clasped hands between you as you walked. 

"It's a surprise." You said. 

"I know every place in this town, it's not going to be that much of a surprise." He laughed. 

"Shush." You insisted playfully. "It's a surprise."

He just smiled and swung your arms around a little harder.

The walk to the place was short and easy, and you talked about your days as you walked - Alex had been working on some things for his legal classes, and you told him about your classes that you'd had that day.  The conversation was easy and held you over until you'd stopped outside a well lit restaurant, live music flowing from the open windows. 

"Here?" Alex said, glancing over at you. "This place is really nice..."

"Yeah." You affirmed, squeezing his hand. "You're really nice, so I thought you deserved a really nice dinner."

You swore you saw the beginnings of a blush on his cheeks as you headed inside. 

You'd reserved a table ahead of time, and the hostess lead you to a tucked away little corner of the place, where the music was pleasant background noise and you felt alone. You settled into one side of the table while Alex took the other. 

Picking up the menu, you paused. "I have no idea what I want." You said. 

Alex picked up his menu as well, perusing the pages. "I don't know... I'm sure they have some sort of special tonight too..."

"Yeah." You agreed. "We'll have to ask the waiter when he comes-"

"Y/N?" 

You lifted your eyes away from the menu to see Tercero, dressed in a black apron and with a notebook in hand.

"Hi." You said, surprised. "I didn't know you worked here."

"Well," Tercero gestured to the uniform he was wearing. "Now you do. What brings a you here on a night like this?"

You glanced across the table to Alex. "Tercero, this is Alex. Alex, Tercero."

Alex smiled thinly and Tercero did the same, something passing between the looks they gave each other. Alex reached across the table to take your hand into his, lacing your fingers together and laying them in plain sight. 

Tercero turned to you again and clicked his pen. "So what can I get for you tonight?"

"We were actually wondering what the specials were." Alex said, drawing Tercero's attention back to him. 

"Tonight's special is braised spare ribs with corn and squash." He said, looking down at Alex over the end of his nose. 

Alex paid him no mind and turned to you. "Want to split that and get something for dessert too?"

"Sounds good to me." You said. 

Tercero wrote it down and clicked his pen again, another thin smile coming onto his face. "I'll put that in for you guys." He said, maneuvering off to the kitchen again. 

You watched him go, quiet for a moment before you spoke to Alex. "Was it just me or was he being kind of weird?" 

Alex hummed. "You know him better than I do."

"He's not like that all the time, I promise." You said. "Maybe it's just because he's at work or something."

Alex squeezed your hand. "It doesn't matter, we're not here for him."

You smiled, looking at your conjoined hands on the table. "No we're not."