date night | nate

As he stood looking at his reflection in the mirror, Nate couldn't help but feel nervous. Ever since he bumped into Allison at the Grill she had been occupying his thoughts more and more often and no matter how hard he tried to stop that from happening, nothing worked. He had tried dating a couple of times after the two of them broke up but he hadn't found that it felt right with anyone else. Allison knew what he had been through with his parents and Leanne, she knew how he had become a werewolf and later a chimera and she accepted all of it. The thought of having to start over from scratch with someone and keep what he was a secret really didn't appeal to him so for the time being at least he was content being on his own.

Or at least so he had thought. Seeing Allison again had brought all of those feelings back to him and even though they had tried being together once and it hadn't worked out, now he wasn't sure that those feelings would ever truly go away. That evening she had asked him over to dinner and even though neither of them had said that it was a date he couldn't deny that it felt like one. Their friendship was finally back on the right track, they had talked quite often since that night at the Grill but Nate knew better than to think that this could be anything more than the two of them just hanging out. His head knew that but his heart was a different matter entirely although as he glanced at the clock he knew there wasn't any time to worry about that now. Allison had asked him to get there for between seven and seven thirty and Nate always liked to be a little early so he grabbed his keys and headed over, getting to her place just before seven. Parking the car, he climbed out and made his way to the front of the house before knocking to let her know that he was there.

ALLISON ARGENT

Nate knew that he shouldn’t be nervous about heading over to Allison’s for dinner, after all it wasn’t the first time that she had invited him but it was the first time since the two of them had broken up. He knew better than to get his hopes up and think that this was a date because Allison had made it quite clear that that wasn’t what she had wanted when they had broken up but he still couldn’t stop his mind from heading in that direction. He had been doing his best to get over her but he couldn’t deny that he had still found himself thinking about her often. He had dated other girls but she was the one person he couldn’t seem to shake no matter how hard he tried. She was both a connection to his past and someone he hoped would play some kind of a role in his future even if that was just as a friend so he hoped that this would end up going well.

Making his way up to the front of Allison’s house the way that he had done so many times before, once again those nerves he had felt earlier seemed to rear their ugly head again but he did his best to bury them deep down as he knocked on the door. He wasn’t quite sure what he had expected but the truth was that seeing Allison as she opened the door was enough to put him at ease in an instant and he felt a smile form on his face as she said he was early as usual. “You know me, I never like to keep anyone waiting,” he admitted, his gaze quickly sweeping over her outfit. “Thank you. You look beautiful,” he said as he stepped into the house before holding out the bottle of wine he had brought with him. “Old habits are hard to break, I hate showing up empty handed,” he added once he was inside. From what he could see the house didn’t seem to have changed that much since he had last been there but as far as he was concerned that wasn’t a bad thing. “Whatever you’re cooking smells delicious. Can I do anything to help?”

ALLISON ARGENT

Nate knew that he needed to be careful tonight, he still cared about Allison and he was pretty sure now that that was never going to change but she had made it clear in the past that she hadn’t wanted to be in a relationship. A part of him had wanted to fight for her and for what they’d had but he had known deep down that it wouldn’t do any good. Her mind had been made up and he had known that nothing he could say or do would make her change her decision so he’d had to go along with it. That didn’t mean that the feelings had gone away, though. For a long time he had thought that they had done and he had even tried seeing other people but in the end he had realised that it just wasn’t the same. Instead he had grown used to being on his own and he was fine like that but seeing Allison again at the Grill and reconnecting with her was enough to remind him of just how good it could be to have someone like that in his life.

Of course now they were only friends and he needed to shake the thought that this could easily be a date but when Allison was saying like she would wait for him because it would be worth it, Nate knew that she wasn’t really helping in that respect. “I could say the same for you,” he admitted as he lifted his gaze to meet hers. It was easy to fall back into old habits with Allison but at the same time he was nervous. They finally seemed to be in a good place and Nate knew that the last thing he wanted was to end up doing anything to screw that up. “Thanks,” he said, feeling his cheeks flush red slightly as Allison said that he looked handsome. He knew that he shouldn’t be nervous around her but he just couldn’t seem to help it – it was like being back in high school all over again. “I know but I wanted to. You’ve gone to the trouble of cooking, the last I could do was bring us something to drink,” Nate assured her before laughing as Allison spoke again. “You don’t need to worry about that with me, you know I won’t judge,” he chuckled. “Besides, it would be a shame to let this go to waste,” he added with a grin.

“Don’t worry, I was always like that in the beginning as well,” he grinned as Allison said she kept panicking and opening the oven door. “I’m sure it’ll be perfect,” he added, knowing that Allison already put her all into everything that she did. “Alright,” he nodded taking a seat as Allison went to grab a couple of glasses for the wine. Looking around them as he waited, Nate turned to see Allison looking at him as she said she hoped that the candles weren’t too much. “Not at all, it looks amazing,” he admitted. Just like a date was what Nate wanted to say but he refrained. “Do you want me to open the bottle?” he asked, knowing that it could be a bit difficult getting the corkscrew out at times.

ALLISON ARGENT

Nate hadn’t known what to think when Allison had invited him over for dinner but it had to be said that he hadn’t expected it to feel as much like a date as it did right now. Allison was the one who had broken things off between them, sure Nate had let her do it but that was because he had known that it was what Allison had needed at the time. She hadn’t wanted to be in a relationship and he had known that there was no way he was going to try and make her do anything that she hadn’t wanted to do. The last thing he had wanted was for her to end up resenting him and even though there had been some distance between them for a while after that they had reconnected at the Grill and Nate had realised during that time that the way he felt about Allison hadn’t changed in the least.

“I know you do,” Nate said, offering Allison a smile in return. He knew that she wouldn’t have said it if she hadn’t meant it, she had never been the kind of person to say something that she didn’t mean. “For something like this?” he repeated, his enhanced hearing having picked up on the words. He wasn’t sure what she meant by that but either way he couldn’t deny that he was flattered. “You know I’ve always enjoyed your cooking,” he added. He knew that Allison always went for it when she tried her hand at something like cooking and he had a feeling that tonight was no exception. “Well, I’m happy to be your guinea pig either way,” Nate chuckled before feeling his smile return as she said that they would just have to finish the bottle next time if they didn’t finish it this time. He was a little surprised by that but the truth was that it was enough to make his heart skip a beat. “I’ll hold you to that,” he nodded, knowing that he definitely wouldn’t say no to spending more time with Allison like this.

“I know. Good thing I normally have better luck,” Nate said as he picked up the bottle and corkscrew and set about opening it. As Allison said his name, Nate looked up from what he was doing. “Mmm?” he muttered, his hands still working the corkscrew although he stopped when he heard Allison’s question and he knew that he had to be honest with her. “My feelings for you haven’t changed so I guess that depends on you,” he said gently. “Do you want it to be a date?”

ALLISON ARGENT

There was a part of Nate that still couldn’t quite believe that they were doing this, he hadn’t seen Allison for a long time after they broke up but bumping into each other again at the Grill really did seem to have changed everything. Now it was almost as though there had never been any distance between them, going back to just being Allison’s friend was going to take some getting used to but they were friends before they got together and they had promised each other that they would stay friends no matter what so Nate knew that he wanted to keep his word. “Alright,” Nate nodded, knowing that he didn’t want to push Allison to tell him what she was thinking if she wasn’t ready. He could see that she hadn’t meant for him to hear that part of what she had said but his enhanced hearing had made it easy for him to do that and he knew that he didn’t want Allison to feel awkward about that.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t remember those,” Nate chuckled. He knew that Allison was right, there were a few times she had tried cooking and it hadn’t gone so well but he had still eaten it anyway because he hadn’t wanted to be rude. “You were getting better when I was last here for a meal though and I bet you’ve only gotten better since then,” he added, offering her a smile as he looked over at her. Allison was the kind of person who would keep going at something until it was perfect so he didn’t doubt that she would have kept trying and with Allison her efforts usually paid off in the end. As she said he was cuter than a guinea pig, Nate couldn’t help but laugh. “Thanks, I’ll take that as a compliment,” he chuckled.

As Allison spoke again, Nate felt a smile touch his lips. “I actually thought that invitation might have been revoked when we broke up,” he admitted. Allison had needed space and Nate had known that he’d needed to give her that. He had respected her decision to end things and he had known that he would always be there for her if she needed him but in the years that had followed it had looked like Allison wouldn’t end up needing him after all. She had always been more than capable of taking care of herself but this was different, even their friendship had faded and he hadn’t known if they would get that back but he knew that he wasn’t going to make that same mistake and let her push him away again. “I’ll definitely be here to help you finish the bottle next time though,” he added although he knew that there was a chance that they might end up finishing it that night anyway.

Taking the bottle from Allison, Nate started trying to open it but quickly paused when Allison repeated what he’d said. “No, they haven’t,” he confirmed. “To be honest I’m not sure if they ever will.” He had liked her back when they were living in Chicago but there was an age gap between them and Nate had known that he couldn’t do anything about it while they were there. He hadn’t wanted to ever take advantage of Allison but during their time in Mystic Falls they had reconnected and when they had ended up spending time together at her prom they had realised that they both felt the same away. That was how it was meant to be but Nate had been starting to come to terms with the fact that he would have to find a way to move on from Allison although now he wasn’t so sure. Looking up as she got out of her seat, he didn’t resist when she lifted the bottle out of his hands and he turned his hands so that she could lace their fingers together. All along he had been trying to tell himself that this wasn’t a date no matter how much it might feel like one but now it turned out that Allison wanted it to be one and the truth was that he could hardly believe what he was hearing. “Are you sure?” he asked, his eyes searching hers for any sign of hesitation. “I would really like this to be a date but I don’t want us to go down this route only to have you change your mind,” he added. They had already done that once before and he knew that he didn’t want to open himself up just to end up getting hurt like that again.

ALLISON ARGENT

Things were definitely much simpler back in Chicago, back then Nate had known that he couldn’t see Allison as anything more than his sister’s friend but that had all changed after they had reconnected in Mystic Falls. Things hadn’t worked out for them the first time around because Allison hadn’t felt ready but now Nate could already tell that she was in a better place and he truly was glad about that. More than anything he wanted her to be happy and that hadn’t changed even after they had broken up. Nate knew that he could have tried to fight her on it and make her see that they were good together but that wasn’t what Allison had needed at the time so he had known that he’d had to let her go.

Now it was so easy to fall back into old habits, though, and he couldn’t deny that it felt good to be able to do this again. They hadn’t said that it was a date and Nate knew that he shouldn’t be thinking of it as such but then again Allison had gone out of her way to cook for them and make the night special so Nate knew that he wanted to make the most of it anyway. “Oh yeah, the Chinese food definitely made up for it,” Nate chuckled. He had never been the kind of guy who would say that a meal was awful after someone had gone to the trouble of cooking it for him because that just wasn’t how he was raised. Instead he would have gone ahead and eaten it anyway but he couldn’t deny that he was glad that he hadn’t had to in the past. “I don’t think it’s arrogant at all, I can’t wait to try what you’ve made,” Nate admitted.

Nodding as Allison said that it was more than a compliment, Nate’s expression softened as she spoke again. “It’s okay, I get it,” he assured her gently. “You needed time and I knew I had to give that to you but I’m still glad we bumped into each other again,” he admitted. He had tried moving on after they broke up and some of his colleagues had even tried setting him up on blind dates but the truth was that his heart just wasn’t in it. Nate was used to being on his own and the truth was that his feelings for Allison hadn’t gone away so he hadn’t felt interested in trying to start something up with anyone else.

Nate knew that he could have been opening a can of worms when he said that his feelings for Allison hadn’t gone away but soon enough she was saying that hers hadn’t either and Nate’s eyes widened in surprise. “They haven’t?” he asked, unable to deny that it was a shock. He had honestly thought that Allison would have moved on from him, it had never occurred to him that she might still feel the same way about him as well. Nate had wanted to think of this as a date and it had certainly felt like one but he hadn’t wanted to get his hopes up only to find out that Allison only saw him as a friend after all. Soon enough she was leaning in and pressing her lips against his, though, and Nate kissed her back gently. As she pulled back slightly he brought his hand up and cupped her cheek gently. “So am I,” he admitted as he leaned forward and kissed her once more. “We can take this at whatever speed you’re comfortable with, we don’t have to put a label on this right away if you don’t want to,” he assured her, knowing that the last thing he wanted to do was give Allison any reason to change her mind.

ALLISON ARGENT

Nate had grown used to what his life had become, he worked, spent time with Leanne and his friends and he sometimes ended up spending evenings at the Grill. It might not be the most exciting life in the world but he was content with it and he had people around him who cared about him. It hadn’t felt right with anyone else after he and Allison broke up and even though Nate knew that in time he might have moved on the truth was that he wasn’t sure that he wanted to. What he felt for Allison was special and even just having her back in his life as a friend felt right. “That would be perfect,” Nate nodded, glad that there was going to be a next time. He had missed spending time with Allison and he knew that he wanted to be able to start doing that again. He had made friends since he’d arrived in Mystic Falls but none of them knew who he was before he was bitten and before he was taken by the Dread Doctors and if he was honest it was a relief having someone who knew the person he used to be. “You haven’t, don’t worry,” he assured her gently. “I don’t think tonight could ever be a failure.”

As Allison asked if he was glad they’d bumped into each other, Nate nodded. “Of course I am,” he said gently. Back in Chicago they had only really spent time together when Leanne was there as well but ever since they’d arrived in Mystic Falls it had been different. Allison had helped him more than he wanted to admit after she found out that he wasn’t human any longer, she had helped him figure the whole thing out and he was really grateful to her for that. Nate knew that there were a few different packs in town and he was starting to think that sooner or later it might be a good thing for him to join one but for the time being he was just trying to take it one day at a time. As Allison said she thought he would have been done with her, Nate shook his head. “I will never be done with you, Allison. We were friends before we got together and I promised you that I would always be here for you. I plan on keeping that promise.” They had both needed some time after they broke up and that was something that Nate knew was to be expected. Now things were different, though, and he hoped that they were getting back on the right track.

He was beyond surprised to learn that Allison’s feelings for him hadn’t changed but he still couldn’t help but feel like it was a good thing. He had tried dating after they broke up but it just hadn’t felt right. He hadn’t thought for a minute that Allison would still feel the same way he did but now he knew that she did and he couldn’t deny that he was glad. “I’ve thought about you a lot too,” he admitted. He had never met anyone like her and he wasn’t sure that he ever would again. The kiss was unexpected but he still found himself kissing Allison back on instinct nonetheless and as she slowly pulled away, Nate felt a smile touch his lips. He hadn’t wanted to push her into doing anything before she was ready so if she just wanted to keep it casual then he knew that he would understand but as she said she wanted it all, Nate leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers once again. “So do I, I’ve missed being with you,” he said, his touch gentle as he brushed her hair away from her face. “Looks like we’re doing this then,” he added with a grin. “Now I’m definitely glad you invited me over tonight.”

ALLISON ARGENT