Chapter Text
Emilia couldn’t quite tell how exactly she ended up in this situation. One moment she was putting on her jacket to go home and in the next one she was standing in front of Pro-Mink with a date for Saturday night.
“Hey, Emilia”, Jona called out for her as she reached for the door handle to leave.
With a slightly questioning frown she turned around to the man who looked slightly out of breath. “Did I forget something?”
He came to a stop right in front of her. “No. I just wanted to ask, if you would like to go out?”
“I am going out. Like right now.”
Jona only shook his head. “As in with me, tomorrow. For dinner.”
The unexpected sincerity in his voice took her aback. “Is there like a meeting or something?”
“No. A date, Emilia. I’m asking you on a date.”
It happened so fast and casual that she almost thought she imagined it. Except she didn’t and instead got a message with a time and place from Jona by the time she was home. She couldn’t even say why she agreed, the man was ready to take her to Spain after one car ride.
But it was also not like she had much else to do around here.
So, the next day Emilia made sure to look somewhat presentable for a restaurant. She made her hair and then stood in front of her closet, realising that she didn’t even own anything proper to wear to a date. Or whatever it was.
She put on her nicest pair of jeans with a white button up shirt and called it a day because there was no way she would start overthinking this. It was just an evening at a restaurant. Nothing more, nothing less. At least she hoped so. But then again it was Jona.
With a sigh Emilia made her way to the front door, when she heard the door bell ring through the apartment. Before she could grab her purse, a knock came from the front door. Did he sprint up those stairs?
With an irritated frown she made her way down the hallway and opened the door, only to be met with probably the biggest bouquet of flowers she had ever seen anyone carry. Oh fuck.
“Jona, what the-”
“Oh, there you are! I was just thinking, we should leave earlier, since they said it’s going to rain soon. I also bought you these”, he started immediately, holding the huge bouquet further into her direction.
“I- uh… Yeah, I can see that”, Emilia stammered, not sure what to even say. “That’s sweet but, Jona… it’s way too big, where do I even put it?”
“Easy, just put them in a vase, make sure to keep the leaves above the waterline and remember to change the water every two to three days”, he answered as if he had been ready for that question his whole life.
Emilia took a deep breath and then took the flowers. “Okay, I’m going to put these away. You just wait here, we need to talk about some things before going.”
She closed the door once more and made her way to the kitchen, knowing that she didn’t own a vase for a bouquet anyways. It would be something she had to think about after… whatever it was, she was about to throw herself into.
“Let me make some things clear”, Emilia started as they drove away from her apartment. “Three things… This is just a dinner, nothing more. We won’t talk about work. And if you mention Spain once, I’m going to leave.”
For a moment it looked like Jona wanted to say something but instead he nodded in that strange way of knowing what he did wrong, where he pressed his lips together. Well, that was a start at least, Emilia thought.
“So, where are we going again?”, she asked, not sure if she should say something or not. Jona seemed unusually quiet. “I don’t think I have been to that restaurant before.”
“Oh, uhm, a friend recommended it. It takes a moment to get there but it will be worth it.”
The rest of the ride was spent in more or less awkward silence. Emilia began to realise that they rarely talked about things outside of work, at least when it was only the two of them. She also began to remember that it had been a while since she last went on a date and had actually no idea what to do.
She had met up with guys and girls from some dating apps but it never worked out. Back in college it was easier but also rarely lasted long. Now, she knew Jona, to an extent at least, but a whole evening alone? Emilia couldn’t quite say where this would lead.
About half an hour later they found themselves at a restaurant that thankfully wasn’t too fancy but did look like it could be indeed worth it. Or maybe she was just relieved to actually have something to do as they made their way inside and quickly got the menu.
They were sitting at a table a bit further in the back, where it was quieter. She could admit that the other couples around them made her a bit nervous, because yes, this was kind of a date but Emilia would like to take this as casual as possible for now.
For a moment she thought about asking Jona about this whole thing, what on earth they were even doing here, but it would just make things more awkward. Instead she opted for the only other thing she knew about him.
“So, pingpong”, she started and looked at the options for the appetizer. “What was that all about?”
Maybe Emilia should have guessed what would happen but desperate times require desperate measures.
Like some kind of sleeper agent, Jona dropped the menu card on the table and stared at her with that intense look that she never really knew how to react to. She couldn’t hold it but couldn’t look away either, blue gaze holding the power of a super nova.
“Are you interested in playing?”
“No, no, I just want to know. It seems to be a big deal”, she explained immediately. Anything was better than the awkward silence.
“Well, you see, I started playing as a young boy, put all my free time into it, was on my way to go big, ready to be the new champion-”
Emilia tried, she really did try to keep a straight face, but the laughter left her lips before Jona could continue. His eyebrows raised at her in a somewhat surprised way, which didn’t make it better. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, didn’t you only say something about Pedersöre once?”
“Well… yeah, but I could have gone bigger”, he pointed out with a slight glint in his eyes.
“Right”, she continued, dragging her voice. “And next I would have seen you at the Olympics?”
Jona put his hand against his chest with a gasp. “You don’t think I could do it, Emilia?”
She bid down on her bottom lip so as to not laugh again. “I might not be an expert like you, but I’m pretty sure that is not how it works.”
Their conversation went on easier after that. They ordered their food and talked about hobbies they tried out as children. Emilia used to be quite good at running which she regretted quitting after middle school. She always drew pictures, of course, remembering how her grandmother had countless photographs of Emilia sitting somewhere nose deep into a drawing book.
Jona on the other hand probably had tried out every activity people between five and eighteen could do. Maybe that was where all the energy came from, she wondered, unable to comprehend even half of the weird sports the other did in his childhood.
“So, like, did you ever have free time?”, she asked after their food got served. Jona had ordered some kind of pasta and was about to shovel a little too many noodles on his fork. Emilia decided not to comment on it for her own sanity.
Jona paused for a moment, eyebrows turning into a thoughtful frown. Emilia had meant it more as a joke, but now she wasn’t so sure anymore… Wouldn’t be the first time Jona took her too seriously.
“I guess not a lot?”
He said it like a question, like he had never spent a moment in his life thinking about it. Emilia tried to ignore the slightly heavy feeling in her stomach. There was no way Jona’s whole childhood was one full schedule, right?
Then he shrugged and that trained smile was back on his lips. “Doesn’t matter, I was set to take over the business anyways so these were just distractions until the real thing would come around.”
Right…
They were mostly quiet during the dinner, Emilia wasn’t sure what to think really. There was a lot about Jona to think about, to be fair, but every new information seemed to leave her with more questions than answers. He might just be the most interesting (and probably most unhinged) person Emilia had ever met, which said a lot because she met Mikael and Gun.
God, how did she end up in this company?
For once she was glad that Jona was able to run his mouth like crazy. When they were halfway through the meal without any of them really saying anything, he talked about some things that happened because of the wild variety of hobbies he had tried out. Emilia ended up somewhere between amusement and growing concern about how the man was still standing on two feet.
“Okay, hold on for a second”, she interrupted, losing count of his so called ‘accidents’. “You have broken your arm by falling down during cheerleading, twisted your ankle in a football game, sprain in your wrist, what else?”
Jona dropped his fork and then leaned his head forward a little too excited. “I also got a scar on my head. You can still feel it.”
Emilia grimaced and continued to take a sip from her wine. She would rather not feel it, thank you. She ignored the slightly weird look from their neighboring table, which already had been judging them by the minute they started talking if you asked Emilia. Their topics might have been unusual but at least Jona wasn’t asking her about the weather for the third time this evening.
“How the hell did you manage to get that? Went diving and accidentally got knocked out?”, she teased slightly, because Jona would be the kind to jump in the nearest source of water before checking its safety.
His smile turned surprisingly flustered. “Ah, no, I just got a little too excited while watching a match on tv as a child and hit my head against a staircase.”
Emilia suppressed a giggle with her hand, this story much better than what she came up with. She could clearly see Jona jump up without thinking about the staircase and being permanently marked. “Yeah, that checks out.”
“Hey, it was an iconic match, Emilia!”, he said, trying to stay serious but his smile betrayed him once again. Radiant like the sun itself, Emilia noticed, just like the first time she saw it. Like he couldn’t help it, a smile would always find its way to him. “It was very serious, I didn’t even care about the pain.”
She rolled her eyes and they focused back on finishing up. By the time the waiter came around so they could pay, it had become quite late.
“How do you want to pay?”, the young man asked.
“Seperate”, she said a little too fast.
Jona frowned. “Oh, I invited you, I can pay”, he argued and Emilia felt panic rise inside of her stomach. Hell no.
“I know you can. But I don’t want you to.” She gave him a look that didn’t leave room for arguments, even though she could tell Jona had some on his tongue.
It shouldn’t be that serious, but she didn’t want to owe him anything later. Emilia didn’t think he would use a situation like this later on but she also didn’t want to risk it. She had met one too many guys who used the pettiest arguments against her in the past.
“Seperately then”, Jona agreed and they moved on with no further discussion. Emilia was glad they could continue with simpler conversations on their way back.
However she didn’t expect for them to end up talking about Gun of all people by the time they arrived back at Emilia’s apartment complex. She just mentioned how she always ended up in strange conversations with her on their breaks and then it continued from there as Jona mentioned she shoved a sausage in his face once.
“No, I’m telling you, she has something going on for your dad, didn’t you see her reaction”, Emilia teased as they walked up the stairs to her apartment.
“Emilia, I would rather hand over Pro-Mink than even think about Gun and my father having some kind of past.” He grimaced, which only made her laugh more.
“You can stay in denial, but that won’t make it less possible.” They arrived at the door before she got to tease him further, a silence settling over them.
“You broke your own rule, by the way”, Jona said then, startling her.
“What?”
“You talked about work.” The satisfied expression on his face had her roll her eyes, although she wasn’t quite able to hide the smile from him. Instead she turned around and unlocked the door.
“And I was just thinking that this evening hadn’t gone that badly.” Emilia saw him raise his eyebrows in surprise in the corner of her eyes.
“Did you think it would?” There was some genuine curiosity in his voice, taking her off guard.
“Well, I didn’t know what to expect, to be fair”, she answered honestly, knowing that they probably viewed this whole evening from different perspectives. “But thank you for the invitation. I don’t regret it, which is a good start.”
“Start?”
Emilia regretted her choice of words as soon as it left her lips. There it was again, that intense sparkle in his eyes, that she didn’t know how to handle.
“Don’t over think it. Goodnight, Jona”, she said with a smile and thankfully he understood her hint to wrap it up.
“Goodnight. See you on Monday?”, he asked, a little too hopeful for her liking.
“As always.”
The exhale that left her body felt like it sucked all the remaining energy out of her. Emilia leaned her head against the door and closed her eyes. The events of the evening crashed down on her and somehow it felt like the storm of emotions in her stomach seemed worse than before. It wasn’t a bad evening at all and that was the problem.
What did she get herself into…