For legalelite

[youngestrose]

It has been so long since Margaery went on a date - at least one that she was excited about and had the potential go to somewhere. At least, she hopes it does. It might surprise Cole to learn that she has remarkably little experience with dating. Her family are very discerning. She can't be seen out with just anyone. Opportunities to choose her own suitor have been few and far between, leaving the rest of her experience limited to blind dates and men perfect on paper but nowhere close in reality.

This date is different. Though the plans were made last-minute, she's rather proud that she's pulled herself together and gotten a reservation at one of Manhattan's most exclusive restaurants. Their privacy, and the staff's discretion, is the hallmark of what this place offers, on top of food practically to die for. The views of Central Park, though fall is just starting to show itself on the trees, should be amazing.

As she steps out of the car into the sidewalk, she is surprised to discover that she's trembling ever so slightly. She doesn't do that. She doesn't get nervous or anxious. Poise is a family trait that's shaped and honed from an early age. She takes a deep breath and walks inside, not entirely ready for whatever is about to happen, but certain that whatever it is, she'll look good doing it.

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[legalelite]

Cole laughs softly at that. He's not going to tease her about it; that's not his style. He only occasionally serves up some good-natured ribbing, and by then it's because Nat or Charlie started it. Or if Tommy really pisses him off. But he has to admit the two of them haven't been very competitive lately, which he still finds incredibly weird.

"I appreciate it. Mostly, when I've reached my fill of conversation, I just head home," he admits. "It's nice to go out and unwind, have a few drinks, meet some new people and not just immediately shut myself off from the world. But I also can't hang out all night and show up not prepared for work the next morning. I keep a very strict balance that it's sometimes hard to explain." As everyone always wants him to stay for one more drink or a couple more minutes.

"What about you?" he says. "How did you fit this into your busy schedule?" It's only half a joke. He knows she had to pull some strings and probably move some things around to get here.

[youngestrose]

She nods. He's mentioned that twice now, his discipline for going out yet not staying out too late. He seems quite... ordinary, for lack of a better word. She actually not sure how to take that, or if it appeals to her. She has literally no experience with it. She's always had to deal with the eccentricities of the people in her life. Every date has been riddled with strangeness and red flags. She wonders if money does that to people, allows their quirks to flourish. If that's true, how has be avoided becoming yet another rich, entitled nut? It must be that family of his.

"I try to leave my evenings free whenever I can. I've learned that taking time for myself actually makes me more productive when I do work. It's easier to deal with the drudgery when I know there's a respite waiting for me at the end of the day. Apparently that's the way normal people do it - a work/life balance."

[legalelite]

"I'm surprised your nights aren't booked with public appearances or people wanting your attention," he admits as he orders dessert. Some of his work deals are done over dinner or there's different events at night that he sometimes has to go to, whether it's with a client or just representing the firm in general. But they can get away with it given their youth. When he gets older he can imagine wanting to go home a lot earlier, like his father does to actually spend dinner with his mother more than once a week.

He pauses. "Do I have to be formally reintroduced to your family as your boyfriend, though? Or will the introduction you made at the party suffice?"

[youngestrose]

"Oh, weekends, definitely. And sometimes things do come up during the week that I can't avoid. But without 'me' time I become very cranky. And cranky Margaery is not attractive." It's more than that, really. She used to work too much, spend too much time with her family, let them and their business dominate her every waking moment. Eventually she started to resent them, and sought out a therapist to help her figure out why. Now she has boundaries and works very hard to make sure they're respected.

"Boyfriend?" Did her heart just stop for a second? She thinks it might have. She needs to drain the rest of her glass of wine.

"Why don't we cross that bridge when we get to it. If we get to it."

[legalelite]

That reaction is not encouraging.

"I didn't mean to presume," he corrects himself and leans back in his seat. "Just wanted to know what I might be in for, in the future. My family doesn't do things like that until things are serious." The fact that Natalie had brought Tommy to dinner just a few months into their relationship was an exception but it likely also came from the fact that Tommy had been around the family for years. His parents were always happy to welcome people, but he and his siblings never wanted to do that unless it was a good thing because they valued their family unit too much.

Marla, his godmother, had once said she didn't need to have kids because she had him. She had meant it sincerely. That was how close they were as not just a firm but as a family.

[youngestrose]

"You're in the clear for the foreseeable future. I like to be certain about someone before exposing them to my family's judgment. If they're not fully committed then it'll be all too easy for Gran or my father to scare them off." Hmm. She thinks she mentioned this earlier. Loras's opinion is the only one that really matters.

The wait staff here know her too well - they bring the dessert Cole ordered with two forks even though he didn't ask for them. She has a bit of a history with swiping bites off of other peoples' desserts.

"There's only so much about the future you can prepare for. There's no telling what this dinner might be the start of. If I'm going to be brutally honest, the prospect of opening up and letting someone in again is pretty terrifying. But there are some rewards in life that don't come without risk."

[legalelite]

"Welcome to everything that went through my head before I came out," he tells her, chuckling softly when he notices the two forks, thus nudging the plate toward her so she can have the first bite. "If not for a contact at the paper promising to do me a solid and keep it out of the gossip headlines, I'd probably still be in the closet."

He'd only come out because in his mind it was safe to do so. He had been plagued with fears about negative backlash, not only for him but for his family and the firm, knowing how he represented both of them. Other people had put ideas in his head about his getting beaten up for his sexual orientation. Cole had gotten himself incredibly anxious playing every worst case scenario. But once he was assured he could keep his private life actually private, then it was easy to want to be honest with the people he actually loved. He wasn't going to lie to someone again.

"I can only promise I won't hurt you," he adds. "I don't expect this to be easy for either of us."

[youngestrose]

She scoops the end of the piece of cheesecake onto her fork, then a little of the fresh whipped cream from on top.

"I don't know if you can really promise that, but I appreciate that you want to. I think I already knew that you weren't the kind of guy to hurt a girl just for kicks, though." And he's right, it probably won't be easy, and that makes her mad. It's not fair. Why is love so easy for seemingly everyone else? Why is she cursed with a family and a fortune that make relationships so hard? Has she just been unlucky? She mulls that over as she eats her bite of cake.

"Mmm, good choice. I can't remember the last time I had cheesecake."

[legalelite]

"I need to take you to a Cheesecake Factory," Cole says, without thinking that a chain restaurant is one of those places she probably can't be seen in. "They have at least three dozen kinds of cheesecake. And enough other menu items that I don't know how it's profitable. But that makes it a good place to take people for lunch sometimes." Because there was something for everyone, and it was casual enough that it was a nice alternative for more relaxed outings, like afternoons on the golf course.

He joins her in diving into the cheesecake, eating for a moment before he continues, "Besides I think I've laid off on having to do anything too upscale anymore. I'm not opposed to it, but all of this has taught me I don't have to be the big shot in any given room anymore."

[youngestrose]

She's sure she's heard of Cheesecake Factory before, and not in the most glowing terms. It sounds like the kind of place she wouldn't be caught dead in, but all of that cheesecake... how tempting.

"You can take me, if you accept that you won't see me for a month afterwards because I'll be living at the gym, working off all of the calories." She's a bit envious of his attitude when it comes to being a big shot. She might not feel the need to be the most important, but she always has to be the most put together. Impeccable. Calm and cool and self-assured. And beautiful, of course. All of the pressure is part of what's driven her to stay home whenever she can. Going out is always a production.

"You don't have to be the most important in the room to everyone... to me, you're the biggest big shot in this room right now."

[legalelite]

"Well, thanks." That makes him smile. "It's nice to be the one everyone pays attention to in a room. I definitely appreciate being hooked up everywhere I go. But I'm getting a greater appreciation for not doing that as much, too." He likes people too much to be a homebody but he's understanding that sometimes mixing it up has its own appeal.

But he pulls out his phone just to bring up the extensive Cheesecake Factory menu and pass it across the table to her. "Second date plans?" he jokes. "There's more kinds of cheesecake than you'll ever expect. And for the ladies in the room, many of them are chocolate." Because he understands how much women seem to love chocolate in anything. Food, jewelry, it always goes over well.

[youngestrose]

She takes the phone from him and sets it down so she can peruse and continue to enjoy the cheesecake in front of them. She's pretty sure she tastes ground coffee beans mixed into the crust, an inventive and delicious touch.

"My God, look at this. No wonder America has an obesity problem. And for the record, I'm an exception to the chocolate norm - I prefer lighter flavors. Vanilla. Fruit. Mint. And if I do go for chocolate, there has to be peanut butter involved." She hopes that he won't have trouble letting her take the attention, when they are together. That won't always happen, of course, but it's likely to. In an ideal world, the only attention he would care about would be hers, and vice versa.

"If you had to pick just one of these, which one would it be?"

[legalelite]

"There's a raspberry one in there I haven't tried but now I want to. And thanks for telling me that, before Valentine's Day comes up and I try to get you a whole thing of chocolate." He chuckles at that. Like many men who have been in long-term relationships, Cole is very trained on not missing out on Valentine's Day. Or to be honest, Mother's Day either. The women in his life have always been on pedestals. As much as he takes after his father, both of them have always been looking up to women.

"You'll have to tell me more about your interests, though," he says, leaning back until she's done with his phone. Not that she'll find anything scandalous on there. Mostly notes to himself and family photos. "I'm not very sure what you like to do for fun, and you probably shouldn't leave that all to me." Or she'd end up at a bar, or maybe a sporting event, or some concert.

[youngestrose]

She's glad she said something, but again he's thinking so far ahead. Valentine's is months away. Who knows where they'll be by then. And it's not like she never wants chocolate. It's awfully good on strawberries. Maybe by February, he'll know her well enough to get her something she actually wants. And how he's got her looking too far into the future.

"My actual interests, or the things I'm only interested in because I'm supposed to be?" There's a distinction, and she's much more familiar with the obligatory ones than the voluntary. In some ways, she doesn't know herself very well - the real her, the Margaery she'd be without all of the obligation.

"I don't expect every date to be perfect 100% of the time. Choosing what we do helps me get to know you just as much as you learning about me. I'll make you a promise - if I'm not having a good time, I'll say something. There's no reason why we can't change course partway through."

[legalelite]

"Your actual interests." Cole chuckles softly at her distinction. "I want to take you to things you enjoy, not the things you think you should or you already get dragged to. I'm sure I'll have ideas, but I'd like to know your preferences, too. Helps me make an informed decision."

Of course there were certain things that would obviously bore her to sleep that he knew better than to suggest, such as the aforementioned sports games. Or some of the things he did with his family that were almost annoyingly domestic. But a little bit of guidance was welcomed. Cole had always been about fairness in relationships, and especially after his breakup, he was making a point of communicating. The more he knew, the less he could be blindsided, or accidentally do the same to his partner.

"But okay then," he commented, finishing off his drink and thanking the waiter for a refill. "So I'll just tell my godmother we're coming over for tennis then?" This was very clearly a joke. But it served to his point as well.

[youngestrose]

She can tell he's joking, but his suggestion isn't the worst she's ever heard.

"I actually like tennis. And the occasional round of golf. I'm not sure exercising together is an ideal second date, though. I need you more on the hook before I let you see me like that." She's not sure she can imagine feeling less sexy than after an hour of tennis - sweaty, hair all over the place. No thanks.

"Loras has been teaching me how to play darts, so that's something. I enjoy a good museum, or a drive through the countryside in the fall to see the trees changing color. Going to a movie is always an option, though it's not the most conducive to conversation."

[legalelite]

"It also means there has to be a good movie." Cole laughs. "Although, there's this company that does riffs on terrible movies, with joke commentary. My sister and I used to watch them when we were in law school together. It doesn't take away from having to sit through a terrible movie but it's sometimes a fun way to spend a few hours with some popcorn."

He smiles. "I actually golf when I've got the time for it. It's something I picked up mostly to fit in with clients, since it seems to be the favorite sport of the corporate crowd, but I found out I liked it. It can be calming sometimes to just go out and hit a few balls if it's quiet. So that's definitely something we could do sometime. I haven't gotten to go out on the course for a while with my workload."

[youngestrose]

"True." Movies were so hit and miss these days, in her opinion. She actually prefers old ones, tried and true classics that you could trust not to disappoint. Just like golf - she's yet to meet a man of means who doesn't play. She'd only learned so she would have something to share with her brothers. It wasn't easy being the only girl, and the youngest on top of that. She learned pretty quickly that if she wanted to be included, she'd have to join in what they were already doing.

"Imagine that, another thing we have in common. I won't let my brothers know that you play, otherwise they'll be dragging you out all the time. Every year they put together a tour courses around the world and there's always some obscure theme or another to it. Unless that sounds like fun to you, but I imagine it would interfere with your work quite a lot."

[legalelite]

"Yeah, it probably would." Cole can admit that with a laugh. Being a pro bono attorney means a less regular schedule than some of his colleagues, because he never knows how many cases he'll be working or what kind. He could go a while doing nothing or he could have to be in meetings or hearings. He wasn't just doing trials and settlements. "Although I'm in one of my slow periods right now, which I never know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. Nice to have a break, bad to not have something to help with."

He exhales. "I know it's not the most attractive thing either. But the fact that you're here, at all, means lot to me. A lot of people hear I'm a lawyer and they see dollar signs and expect me to be some sort of big man on campus. Which I'm certainly popular in social circles, but I am never going to make the kind of money other people do, or have the acclaim that they do. That's not the life I chose for myself. I have exactly one high-profile client, and he's an NFL player who just asked me to negotiate his contract after I met him at a charity event."

[youngestrose]

She nods in understanding while she takes smaller and smaller bites of the cheesecake, determined not to eat more than half. Self-control around something so delicious is tenuous at best. He's told her these things before, in one way or another. It must be very important to him for her to understand, but it sounds more like he's giving her a free pass to decide she's not interested. Apparently his confidence isn't endless. He's an actual human being, insecurities and all.

"I think you should give yourself more credit, and try to remember that not being compatible with someone doesn't make either of you defective. You don't have to live up to anyone's expectations, not just mine. I'm sure I've said before, I don't have any. This is... a clean slate. I don't expect or assume anything. So rather than telling me all of the things that you aren't, share with me the things that you are, and that you're proud that you are."

[legalelite]

"That part's already easy. I like sportscars, my vinyl collection and Chipotle burrito bowls," he comments wryly. He's not into anything that exciting when he's not working. He goes out to socialize and have a few drinks. Occasionally gets forced into playing tennis with his godmother. But he doesn't have a lot of hobbies. "You've already figured out my biggest sideline, which is volunteering. My family supports a lot of animal-related causes. I adopted some sea otters for the holidays."

His family is one of those financial backers whose names are on a plaque somewhere at the local zoo. The aquarium. They donate to animal charities and foster some when necessary. It's a cause that started with his mom, and it's just become a family thing. Maybe on some date they'll go to the zoo and he can show her behind the scenes of certain things.

"I was a volunteer firefighter, but I had to give it up a little while ago when I took on all these extra hours at work. I've been thinking about going back eventually now that things have stabilized, or maybe I just need some honest downtime." He doesn't have to fill his schedule back up necessarily.