Work Text:
1 Hour Ago
Matt had walked into the restaurant with his sister. She’d passed all of her tests with flying colors so his mom sent some money for the two of them to go have a really fancy dinner together since she was away in Alaska at the moment. She’d felt bad, but at least she could pay for dinner. Of course, they had to go somewhere expensive and pretend to be rich and fancy for a night (despite the fact they were both broke and in varying years of college completion.)
Immediately as the waiter led them to their table, Matt noticed all the fancy folk around him. Men and women in suits, some in dresses with their hair done up in a way that probably took a hair stylist or more than a few hours (and Matt knew, this very well because he’d often had to help Pidge with her hair for dances on the rare occasions she went to them.) Of course, everyone was either in a party of two or more, Pidge and him weren't any different. This was the restaurant you went to celebrate with your whole family, company, or maybe just taking your lover on a date.
He found the beauty in looking around at all the happy couples and people as they chatted and enjoyed their meals. Matt couldn’t ever explain why, but it was probably just the fact he really enjoyed seeing others in happy situations. There was, however, one exception. A darker-skinned boy was sitting alone in a corner. He didn’t look as fancy as the rest of the patrons, but still, he’d made an effort.
Matt was confused as to why he was alone though. It could’ve been concluded at first that the mystery man’s date had just gone to the bathroom and so he was just sitting alone waiting for their return. His expression didn’t match that possibility. He wore the same tired expression that came with people who have been waiting for something they know will never come.
Currently
He’d been stood up. Pidge and Matt had already ordered, were almost done with their meals and tempted to go for dessert, and still, the mystery man’s date never came. Matt felt terrible about the whole ordeal because the restaurant continued to clear as the night grew later and nobody walked through that door looking for him.
It was the danger of being an empathetic person. The guy was growing closer to tears every time Matt looked over (which Pidge had timed by now, it was about 5-minute intervals.) Whoever it was that stood mystery man up, especially in an extremely nice restaurant like this that was costing an arm and a leg, Matt wanted to find and give a serious talking to (along with a knuckle sandwich, the ‘special’.)
“Why are you so fixated on that guy?” Pidge finally vocalized her thoughts about her brother’s frequent looking. Matt turned back to face her and address the question. “I saw him when we walked in and I thought maybe his date was just in the bathroom but it’s been an hour and he looks like he’s about to cry. The guy has been stood up and I feel bad okay?”
Pidge snorted through another piece of bread, “You-” she realized shortly that she was going to attempt talking with her mouthful, and she stopped to swallow before continuing, “- you are possibly the most empathetic person I’ve ever met. And I grew up with mom, so that’s kinda saying something. There’s nothing you can do about someone else being stood up, Matt, you don’t get a choice in people being assholes.”
“Yeah, I know, I know. But I wish there was something I could do. It’s just unfair.” Matt was throwing his hands around in the air out of frustration. He had an idea, but it was probably stupid and didn’t make sense to try. His phone displayed ‘20:38’ as the time. If he hadn’t left and was still alone by 9, Matt was gonna try his stupid idea.
The following time would just have to be consumed by desserts and chattering with Pidge about inventions she had ideas for and the professors she hated enough to complain about. Iverson ended up being a pretty common name in said following professor rants. Matt tried his best not to look over and found time going slower than it ever had.
It was like he was waiting for a bomb to go off, one that he knew would kill everyone in the restaurant, one that he could warn everyone of, but one that he couldn’t say anything about because it was him who planted it, and he’d be going down with it. Matt really didn’t like bombs.
His phone began to vibrate just as their waiter for the night, someone named ‘Rolo’ brought the check. The phone buzzing meant that it was 9, that it was time to check again. Finally, like the bomb was defused, Matt turned over to see if the mystery man was still there.
And there he was, sitting closer to tears than ever. “Pidge,” Matt said, scooting out of the booth and pulling out his wallet and keys. “Pay for dinner, and then take my car home. I’ll get the keys from you tomorrow okay?” Matt stood above the table now as he pulled out the envelope with cash and set it on the table.
“Are you seriously going to go talk to that guy?” She crossed her arms and looked both annoyed and amused. “I’m going to do something. Just, don’t get in a wreck. Mom would kill me and I’ve only got one semester left.” He began to walk from the table, but he wasn’t far enough to not hear his sister quirk, “I love how that’s what you’re most concerned about.”
Matt was determined, but not entirely sure what he’d say. “Hey! Sorry, you got stood up wanna talk about it?” or maybe “I’ve been staring at you like a creep the whole night. Sorry, you got stood up.”
What he chose was, “Sorry I’m late. Traffic was just horrendous trying to cross town.” as he pulled out the chair and sat down, looking at the mystery man, who in turn looked up at him. His face was both confused and sad. Matt wasn’t sure if he was being a nuisance or not until the man wiped a tear and forced a smile.
“You could’ve at least sent a text or called me… haha... I’ve been waiting 2 hours.” 2 hours. It hit Matt like a ton of bricks. “My phone died and I forgot my charger at work. I changed in the bathroom because the boss said I had to work late. I’m a whole mess tonight.” Matt joked with a slightly forced chuckle at the end.
The man’s smile grew a little less forced as he figured to continue the conversation. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do than to talk to a complete stranger trying to joke around with him. “I thought you always kept a charger in your car. You’re always on your phone instead of paying attention to things.
No way… This guy was totally being passive aggressive about the person who’d stood him up. Matt, as much of a cheerful person as he was, loved it. “I’ve been trying to work on that as of late. Phones are programmed to take control of the human brain and keep us enthralled. I guess I turned into a victim of that.”
“Hasn’t everyone…” He huffed, leaning on his hand. “Sadly. Even as someone who loves computers I can tell you that phones have taken over society. It’s a conspiracy.” The man laughed, “You sound like my friend, Keith. He always talks about conspiracy theories.” Matt laughed too.
“Yeah, they’re more my sister’s thing. I just joke around with them sometimes. I’m more the pick-up line and meme guy. My name is Matt by the way.” He offered his hand across the table. His acquaintance took it. “Lance. People say the same about me. Or, my friends at least say it.”
Lance and Matt both retracted their hands and sat back, more relaxed. Matt was actually pretty proud of himself for managing to ease into the conversation. “Oh really? What’s your best line?” Matt prompted, curious, and surprised to find someone bragging about using pick-up lines.
“The name’s Lance, but you can call me yours~” He smirked, snapping finger guns at the opposite brunette. Matt smiled, “My favorite has gotta be: I could write your name in the clouds but it’d blow away, and I could write your name in the sand but it’d wash away. But I’ll write it in my memory and for forever it will stay.”
“Holy shit dude that’s so much suaver than any of the lines I use.” Lance looked at him with stars practically shining in his eyes. “My mom has a journal of all the pick-up lines she ever used on my dad. I’ve had a reference from a young age, and then I started thinking up stuff to say on my own… Everyone always tells me they’ve seen it somewhere on the internet before though so it’s never really that special.”
“I think it is. I mean, a lot of people are just jerks wanting action and pick-up lines are their quick go-to method.” Lance rested his hands on the back of his head like some sort of hammock that wasn’t really a hammock. “Pick-up lines are iffy, but I’ve been using them so long that I can’t really stop.”
“Amen.” After that, neither of them spoke for a couple minutes, unsure of how to continue the conversation. That was until Matt decided to ask the question that burned like a fire in his mind, “Don’t feel obligated to answer but.. what happened tonight?” Lance leaned forward, immediately Matt noticed that all of the brightness his eyes had before was gone.
Still, he hesitated. But Lance chose to answer, “It was my two year anniversary with my girlfriend. I met her at the beginning of college and she chose to stick with me, but I guess two years wasn’t important enough for her to show up… I mean, I don’t know if something happened but I thought she would’ve at least sent me a text or something instead of letting me sit here for 2 hours by myself.”
“Jeez, that’s rough man. I mean, I saw you when I walked in but I thought she was just in the bathroom or something. But, an hour and a half bathroom break was too long, even as someone who took long bathroom breaks to play video games in high school.” Lance huffed a laugh. “You and me both.”
Lance looked around Matt. Matt looked around as well, wondering if something had caught his eye. “Oh, uh, I’m not looking at anything. But I think it’s getting late. I mean this place is almost empty besides waiters who probably don’t want to even be here. Both of us should probably get going.”
“Yeah.” Matt swiped up the check before Lance could even think about it. Even if he really couldn’t afford it, Matt was determined to pay for his dinner. Lance looked at the table in confusion before noticing it in his hand. “You just came over here and cheered me up. You don’t need to pay.”
“I don’t need to, but I’m going to. It’s the least I can do.” Both of them stood up, Matt rushing forward to the counter to pay and hoping that Lance would just catch up. Hesitantly, Matt offered his card. Normally, people don’t pay at the counter, but Matt figured that the waiter probably wasn’t going to be rushing over.
The cashier gave him back the card, Matt signed, and he looked back at Lance who was nervously standing by one of the booths at the front. Matt smiled at him, and opened the door, holding it for his (hopefully) new friend. Lance walked forward out the door and Matt followed him, pulling out a piece of paper from his wallet and a pen that he kept in his pocket.
“Thanks for everything, Matt… tonight wasn’t actually a complete and total failure I guess.” Matt handed him the piece of paper he’d scrawled his number on. “No problem. It was my pleasure really. That’s my number if you ever need anything… you’re actually a pretty cool guy.”
Lance looked at the piece of paper for a few seconds before closing his hand around it. “I, uh, maybe I can actually treat you to dinner sometime when I’m not a complete mess.” Lance smiled, looking up at him. “You’re not a mess. You decided to go along with my shenanigans… I think there’s beauty in that.”
Matt embraced Lance in a tight hug after seeing how he was fluctuating between a sad smile and a somewhat forced happy one. “It’s gonna be alright, Lance. Get home safe okay? You can call or text me anytime you need to for support.” He let go and both of them pulled away.
Lance waved and turned, before walking away with a bounce in his step he hadn’t expected, but he was already planning on where he could take Matt for dinner.