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The coffee that Nia held in her hand was quickly cooling against her skin, despite her request to make it extra hot, can you make it scorching? The weather might have something to do with the too-quick-to-cool coffee, as the temperature was 40 °F.
The morning light was grey and watery, the streets seemed strangely empty and forlorn for 8 AM, and Nia desperately tried to stop shivering as the winter winds blew and brought a freezing chill to the air. She used her free hand to tighten her coat, before wrapping a thick scarf on her neck in hopes that it would keep the wind from biting at the exposed skin.
She was rushing to get to CatCo quickly, attempting to escape the cold, when a man leaning on a wall a few feet away stopped her. He had a serious face and shoulder-length dark hair. He was, to Nia's disbelief, wearing only a tight black long sleeved shirt, black pants, and boots. He was visibly shivering and had his arms crossed, trying to maintain warmth. He must be freezing, she realized.
It took Nia about two seconds to decide on what to do next.
She walked over to him, placed her coffee on the sidewalk, and took off her scarf to give to him.
"Please take this."
The man blinked. "Sorry?"
"Take my scarf. You need it." She remembered that most people would be hesitant to receive random gifts from strangers. She needed an excuse. "I was, uh, gonna donate it anyways."
He looked at the cream-colored scarf she held, and then at her.
"You want to give this... to me?" his voice was unsure. "how do you put this... garment on?"
Does he not know what a scarf is? Nia wondered. "You wrap it around your neck. Here, let me -"
He allowed her, confused, to wrap the scarf tightly around him. She noted how cold his skin was.
He rubbed the cosy cloth with his fingers. "This feels, uh, certainly better. Much warmer, and this thing is snug - my calculations tell me that on Earth, this garb is called a scarf." She must have been clearly befuddled, so he quickly added: "what I mean is, thank you very much for this lovely scarf. I am grateful."
Nia smiled, content to help this handsome stranger during this time of need. That scarf was cheap anyway.
"Of course. I'm happy I could help. And that's only a scarf, you're still cold - getting somewhere warm would be good for you."
He nodded in agreement. Nia picked up her coffee and turned to leave, but the stranger stopped her.
"W-wait. I would like to know what is your name - you seem familiar. And, I would also like to formally thank you for this." He offered her a small smile.
"You already thanked me!" Nia reminded the man, "and my name is Nia Nal."
"Nia Nal..." He said out loud as if he heard it before, or something close. "Pleasure to meet you. I am Brainy - I mean, uhm, Barney. My friends call me Brainy, I get confused."
Something was a little weird about that introduction, but Nia had felt that this Barney had no ill intentions, so she let it slide.
"I thanked you verbally, yes. But for this kindness you had displayed towards me, I would like to thank you literally. Perhaps by, uh, taking you to dinner? it is a common custom, I believe. Besides, I would like to get to know you better," He said.
Was he... asking her out on a date?
"I'm not sure what to say. That's a bit unexpected." Nia thought Brainy was cute, sure, but a date was a bit too much. She didn't know this guy. She wondered how to let him down, but gently.
Barney - Brainy - furrowed his brows in thought. "Right! My apologies. I assure you, I do not intend to be, as people in this century would say, 'a creep'," He declared. "What I would actually want is to exchange numbers, so we could call each other, as they say."
Nia smiled, somewhat bashfully. "I'd love that, Barney."
"Please, you are a friend. Call me Brainy."