Heart of Gold (Roselyn)

[Roselyn Veeder]

Rose smiled as she saw him blush, it was sweet, perhaps even seemingly innocent on his part to get so flustered by a compliment like that. That was something she thought was endearing and made him that much more appealing. After all in a world were there was smut on every corner and one trying to be more shocking than the next, well it all started to lose it's value... with most people at least. You couldn't say anything to really effect people unless it was pure blasphemy.. This made her feel like a young girl again. Sure she had gotten wiser in her years leaving high school, she had gotten bolder, but she often yearned for something simpler. Innocence died at an early age now and even though she was far past that, she longed for that kind of perspective. Sure she might not be in His grace right now but she did have a strong sense of morals.

Vincent told her he had no children, then he went on to answer questions that had been creeping about in her head. She certainly didn't want to come out and ask him anything like that but after you find out how low some people can be you try not to rule anything out without asking. She smiled, giving only a half nod before lowering her arm and letting them rest on the table. Charlie was there in the background, his eyes not moving from her but he was the furthest thing from her mind at this point. "That's nice to know.", she had glanced down at the sleeves of her coat but smiled as she looked upward at him. She didn't want to be stereotyping, and really she didn't think that Vincent was the type to do something like that... But you couldn't set moral boundaries out of assumptions anymore. "We have something else in common," she added that to let him know that she was emotionally available.

He explained a bit of why he was single, that his job was demanding. Still there would be several women who would make that sacrifice. He was handsome, seemingly healthy, he had to make decent money. He must have high standards for women. Sure they could be clingy creatures, but any creature that you pump a crap load of hormones into is going to be a roller coaster of ups and downs. And Rose could relate to him, as far as having a demanding and changing work schedule. It didn't happen often but under certain circumstances she was known to get up at any time of the night to come to the hospital, no matter what she had committed to or how tired she was.

He asked her in turn about children and although it could have changed her mood and turned things sour she merely smiled. "If you include my patients than I have several... they are all I have as far as that goes." A gift and a fault Rose had was she loved quickly and deeply and she did get attached to children she took care of, especially for any length of time. "I do have one man in my life and I must tell you, he can be very jealous." She gave a half grin,her eyes shirting about the room as if there were perhaps spies there. "And if he knew I was giving anyone else this kind of attention he may not let me pet him for... days." Coal Chute of course was the 'male' she was talking about. That cat meant a lot to her, for different reasons and because she felt they both knew what it was to suffer loss.

Cats.. she knew several men didn't like them but she swore she'd take care of him til one of them kicked the bucket. It was the closest thing she had to a child and seeing as how they had been together for almost two years now she seen no reason to change anything.

"Other than coming here and helping with the kids, what do you like to do?" She leaned her head to the left and blinked her eyes before locking her gaze with his. She felt like cracking a joke about him taking applications for those positions, well girlfriend, but she felt she had best keep that wild comment to herself. She could see Vincent as being very athletic, and her mind started to question what things he might do in his spare time. She might not be bold when it came to addressing others, especially those she didn't know or didn't feel that instant connection with but she did like trying new things.

[Vincent Romanov]

Things seemed to be moving in a positive fashion between Rose and Vincent and as the two exchanged words, the worry and nervousness seemed to disappear. It had been a while since Vincent had enjoyed such company as Rose Veeder and he had to admit it was a very welcomed change of pace. The only women in his life currently were his mother and sister, and while he loved them deeply, they never missed a chance to irritate their sweet Vincent. Vincent had taken over duties as the head of the family after his father's death years ago and falling suit, his sister had taken in their mother, fulfilling her role as caretaker. Their family was small but very tight and very protecting of one another. If either one of them knew he was entertaining female company at the moment, both would have put their world on hold to watch what was about to happen.

It was nice to know that Rose didn't have anyone in her life, as far as intimate companionship went, even though for a second it seemed their might be some worry. Vincent smiled and chuckled as he realized Rose was referring to a pet instead of a real person. He figured her for a cat person, after all, cats really took care of themselves which would fit her schedule better than a dog would have. Vincent himself had no animals to attend to, unless you counted their students back at Hammel into that category....but considering some of the meta abilities out there, some of those students did fall into the animal category.

At the mention of children, Vincent did notice something odd about Rose's reaction. She was quick to answer and immediately drew attention to the kids here. It was a diversion of the real answer and while Vincent did not doubt her lack of children of her own, something just wasn't right about the situation. He smiled politely of course, agreeing with her description of how she viewed her patients here. It was close to the same feeling of what Vincent felt for the students back at Hammel. Of course, Rose's feelings were more maternal in nature while Vincent's was more on the guardian side. Those kids were his responsibility to keep safe and it was his responsibility to see to it that those kids never had to worry about being harmed while attended Hammel. They had enough worries to deal with at their current age, plus they needed a clear head to focus on their school subjects and their future job decisions.

Now, a question directed back at him. It was simple enough, Rose wanted to know what Vincent enjoyed in his personal time. Entertaining the kids here was a given, but there was still that private time dedicated to himself. Not many things popped into Vincent's mind, all his activities outside of work were pretty simple. "I don't know really," he said with a puzzled face, as if it were the first time he had pondered this question, "Nothing really exciting I guess. I mean, I don't want to sound like a ego maniac or anything, but I enjoy working out I guess. Boxing...watching and participating I guess, but its sort of hard to find willing opponents considering I'm a meta," he said casually. Vincent had never seen his power as something which made him special. He did believe he was different, set apart if you will, but not in the sense of making him above those who were deemed 'normal'. If anything, Vincent saw himself subservient to those without meta powers. The weak needed protectors and those who had powers should step up and fill that role. However, a split second after he had mentioned being a meta, he realized just who he was talking to here. Being at Hammel, one became accustomed to being around meta-humans all the time. He had just realized that he was out in the world now, and not everyone he interacted with was a meta.

Narrowing his eyes, Vincent began to really look at Rose. She already knew he was meta from their encounter upstairs and it hadn't bothered her. Perhaps she herself was one or maybe there were some in her family? While it was true the people of Pilot Ridge were a bit more accepting of meta-humans, it didn't mean they were loved and given parades all the time. "I didn't notice it until now, but your way too calm with what I am," he said, smiling as if he were some kid slowly coming to an end of a puzzle, "Now why would that be?," he asked her, leaning in closer to her, putting his arms on the table.

[Roselyn Veeder]

Rose's eyebrow raised slightly as he mentioned he liked boxing. She had never really been to a match and on TV it only held her interest for a few seconds. She didn't know the ends and outs of it that was sure but the thought of Vincent boxing, watching him sent chills through her body that soon seemed to burn and tingle under the skin. She could see herself getting into the 'sport' considering she would have new found motivation to enjoy it. "Hmm." she hummed in consideration as he went on to tell her it was hard for him to find a willing opponent considering he was a meta. She didn't give any indication that this word was strange to her, appearing to be everyday terminology to her. "Well, I could imagine, unless you know another meta that could level the odds a bit more with you." Part of her wished he already knew someone, and then again she knew she was barely more than a stranger to him yet.

Vincent seemed to pick up on the fact that she was calm and casual about his abilities. He narrowed his eyes slightly and she knew that a question was sure to follow. She smiled at his question, not many people knew what she could do. Sure her employers knew her abilities but she didn't make it public really, if others knew she could accelerate cell regeneration they would expect her to be able to cure anything. She didn't need that kind of weight on her shoulders, she had a hard enough time trying to balance out how much of her energy she spent on the patients and who needed it most. She couldn't do anything completely drastic, say fully mend a severed limb, her strength and ability can only work so much on a person. She tried to use it a lot to fight cancer, reduce the size of tumors and etc.

He had moved in closer to her and part of her wanted to show him, in fact she made a move to take hold of his hand but changed her mind at the last second, her fingers just barely brushing the back of his hand before she moved it fluently back to the table. She gave a sigh of hesitation before looking back up at him, "If you want to find out the answer to that question.... you'll have to ask me to 'coffee' again." She gave him a playful smile, you didn't get much time on a break and she wanted to see Vincent again, in a more private setting... not because she wanted to do anything forbidden but she liked testing trust and being alone with him was showing some on her part. In fact something about him was drawing her in and she felt safer with him and his judgment than she did her own. True she had been alone for a good amount of time, even grown accustomed to it and before this morning had not really had any strong desire to change it.

She gave a half laugh, realizing the irony of the situation, "I'm not usually a coffee drinker." she took a short breath and let it out, "Only when mysterious gentlemen show up and ask me." She had hit or miss cravings for cappuccino or frappaccinos but just coffee was bland and in her opinion bad for you. She relaxed a bit, sitting back in her seat after a quick glance at her watch, her blue eyes falling on him again.

[Vincent Romanov]

Now Rose had thrown down the gauntlet, daring Vincent to pursue her a bit further. She wasn't about to give up anything further in this short little meeting of theirs. To be honest, that was fine with Vincent, it just meant she found him interesting as well. The invitation for the date was out there and now all Vincent had to do was take the initiative. He would have to alter his work schedule to fit in time for a date, but seeing how he was head of security, it shouldn't be too hard to pull off. His security team was capable of handling the school without while he took time to have a life for once. It wasn't like he was just abandoning his job or anything. Besides, Sean and James practically ran the school anyway and they knew how to get reach Vincent should they need him.

The almost touch which Rose had teased him with, lingered in the forefront of Vincent's mind. Rose wasn't as innocent as she looked, a thought which only pulled him to her all the more. While Vincent played the good guy, he wasn't exactly a saint. He needed to start living for once, to finally have a life and try to find what he always had wanted. "You know," he began a bit playfully, looking down at his hands with a sly little grin, "There's this kid back at the school, a technopath, really good at digging up every bit of information about anyone she wants," he said, glancing up to Rose, trying his best to hold back the laughter dying to roll forth. However, this was a battle he couldn't win, as Vincent was enjoying himself far too much. "But, I think I'd like to get to know you the old fashioned way," he said, as his laughter died down and a more serious tone and look overtook him. "How about this Saturday? We'll start off slow, grab some dinner together. Nothing real fancy, something casual. I know a great steakhouse on the outskirts of town. Food isn't five star or anything but its still good and the beer is the coldest around," he said, smiling, showing just how casual he really was. There wasn't any sense in trying to be fancy with Rose seeing how that just wasn't Vincent. Being honest from the get go was the best thing to do, he had to wait now to see how interested Rose really was.

[Roselyn Veeder]

Rose wasn't a saint, she had done things she wasn't always proud of. She had a failed marriage, had failed to grow their family... but she was far from wild or damaged. She had lived some of her life, perhaps not to the best of her ability but it was all said and done now, and she couldn't play innocent all the time. She is a very loyal person, and true to her nature she's a martyr, commonly submissive. She doesn't really like to color in the lines and her head isn't turned easily. She doesn't look for the most accepted situations but now looks for ones that make her the happiest. Sure she doesn't have the best family life now, she hadn't talked to her mother in three years, but she was doing well on her own. She was stable, she didn't have to do without because she made sure she could provide for herself years ago. Time and irony showed her in it's own wicked way that things couldn't always be planned, nor could they be perfect.

Vincent made a remark about someone digging at her past which made her pause for a moment. She was holding her breath and hoping that he was joking, which soon showed in his next choice of words. She felt the mood lightening up, and she felt a wave of relief wash over her. He held her full attention as he talked about the steak house. She juggled many things about in her head, trying to figure out just how honest and open she wanted to be with him from the get go. I mean after all if they were gonna do this date thing then she wanted to make sure she wasn't just wasting their time. She felt different around him, an adrenaline rush of wanting to hold your breath and just dive in. Yet at the same time she knew she had some baggage and unloading it all was enough to scare most sane men away.

She pushed all those fears down again, nodding her head in agreement. "Sounds great to me." She reached into her pocket, dragging out a small note pad she kept her own notes on. She flipped it to the back of the book and on one sheet of paper wrote Rose - 756-2895. After she jotted it down she set it down in front of him. "You can either call or text me, if I am at work I won't be able to answer the phone. I hate I have to run but I've got to get back up stairs." She stood up, pushing her hair back behind her ears. She slide the chair back under the table and made a silent vow to let herself be vulnerable around him. It was hard to trust another man, especially after her marriage fell apart like it did. But those mistakes she had made long ago, had she not paid for her mistakes by now? "I'm really looking forward to seeing you." She gave him a soft smile, somehow feeling assured that everything was going to be okay. "I'll see you then, okay?" She hesitated to turn around, giving him a half wave before she turned around and headed out of the cafeteria.