A D.Va, the Faire & a Waffle

They stayed like that for a long time. He didn't want to be the first to let go. Max sensed she needed it.

Finally, she stepped back. "We're leaving today. Heading back to Raleigh. I guess I missed breakfast."

"Yeah, that was a little while ago," Max smiled weakly. "I don't suppose I could give you my email or my number . . . I travel a lot on business; if I get down that way, we could meet for lunch or something."

"I'd like that." She reached for the phone in her back pocket. "What's your number?"

Tempest tapped away as he rattled off the digits. A second later, he got a text that read, Tempest, which was followed by a second text with a Battle.net account name.

"As long as you're not a Hanzo main, you're welcome to play with us." Tempest winked.

She surprised him by reaching out for another hug, this one less therapeutic, and more sensual. Her soft breasts mashed against him. Tempest pulled back and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'll catch you around, Max."

"I expect it, Tempest."

He stood in the hallway as she walked away, his eyes drawn to her wide, swaying hips and bouncing pony tail. She didn't look back.

*************

"Goddamn it, Genji! What the fuck are you doing?!?!" Max winced as one of the sisters exploded in the voice chat. It sounded like Brooke, who was on the back line playing Mercy. "Stormy, watch the right side in case they bring their McCree around us again."

"He's not in voice chat, Noodle," a second sister, Terra, said calmly. She was playing Tracer, and running around trying to isolate the other team's healers and draw out their ultimates. Max was just learning the sounds of their voices along with their favorite heroes. "If he runs off and starts begging for healing, let him die."

"I'm not going to heal that asshole anyway," Brooke sounded annoyed. "He was doing fine as Mei before we got to the payload. I don't know why he switched."

"They've got a Bastion and Junkrat set up behind Rein just before the checkpoint," Terra warned.

"Roger that," Max mumbled. Sitting firmly on the payload, he swung Bastion's rotary canon around in anticipation of turning the corner and reloaded so the magazine was full. Serafina dropped Orisa's shield right in front of him.

As soon as he saw the edge of the enemy Reinhardt's shield, Max spun up the gatling gun and started shooting along with Orisa. The edges of his screen started to glow blue as Brooke used Mercy's damage boost on him. It changed to yellow when Orisa's shield collapsed under the weight of the enemy Bastion's gun and Junkrat's grenades. D.Va's defense matrix neutralized the other team's shots for a few seconds. Orisa's shield went back up as soon as the cooldown expired.

It was a race to see which team was going to wear down the other first. Orisa dropped her ultimate, boosting their team's damage.

"Double kill! Triple kill!" the computer announced. Max breathed a sigh of relief. His health bar had been perilously low, but thanks to Orisa and Mercy, they had made it to the checkpoint.

D.Va saddled up beside the payload. She waved and did her "heartbreaker" emote. Max laughed to himself. If he hadn't had his hands on the mouse and gamepad, he probably would have blown Tempest a kiss, even though she would never know.

Since the girls departed Columbus on Sunday afternoon, the five of them had been playing Overwatch for the past four nights. Max didn't have much to do in the evenings anyway, and the girls were making a push towards Platinum rank before the end of the competitive season.

For Max, it was an interesting experience getting to know the sisters through a computer game. He found out who was the bossy one (Brooke), the drama queen (Tempest), the quiet one (Serafina) and the level-headed one that kept the rest on task and in line (Terra). He was learning to recognize their voices, as well as the nicknames that they called one another in private.

The payload passed the checkpoint, and Max knew the other team was getting ready to make their stand at the end of the King's Row map.

"Rein . . . Bastion. D.Va," Terra started calling out the other team's composition, noting which ones had changed since their last wipe. "Pharah, Junkrat . . . and Mercy."

Max started shooting at anything that moved.

Orisa's shield was back up in front of him. Their push stalled twice before finally getting the payload across the glowing line on the ground which marked the other team's progress.

"Victory!" the voice sounded triumphantly.

"I'm out for the night," Serafina said as the computer tabulated their competitive points. "Some of us have class in the morning."

"It's only eleven-thirty," Tempest scolded her with one of their family's nicknames. "C'mon, Potpie! One more match!"

"Not tonight, Stormy," Max heard the other girl sigh. "Good night, Max."

" 'Night, Serafina," he said into the mic. The other girls dropped out of the group until it was only he and Tempest remaining.

"Do you want to queue up for another one?" Tempest asked.

"I probably shouldn't," Max sighed. "I've got to get up for work tomorrow."

"Pussy," she taunted playfully. "Who needs sleep?"

Part of Max was insulted that she was calling him names. Part of Max was aroused at the sound of her voice saying, "Pussy."

"I do," he replied, not allowing himself to be baited. "Will you be around tomorrow night?"

"If you're going to be on, I will be. I think my sisters are going out. Don't you have a hot date or something?"

Max snorted softly.

"Wow, I thought I was the only lame person without a social life."

"I spend two hundred days a year living out of hotel rooms," Max lamented. "I'm never in one place long enough to meet anyone."

"You've been playing Overwatch four nights in a row with someone you met while living out of a hotel room," Tempest pointed out.

"And now she's five hundred miles away."

"Yeah, well, that's something we're going to have to work on. I'll see you tomorrow, Max."

"Good night, Tempest."

They both dropped out of the group. Max took off his headset and dropped it on the desk next to his gaming keyboard.

A second later his phone buzzed.

sweet dreams, loverboy. i'll be thinking about u

Max couldn't help but smile to himself.

Another text came through. and by thinking about u, i mean i'll b masterbatting.

*masturbating. lol. i'm a dork.

He tapped out a quick reply. But a pretty dork.

who's a shitty speller

i'll buy u a dictionary

go F urself. good night, max

*************

Friday seemed to drag on. After lunch, everyone pretty much had one foot out the door going into the weekend. The trainees's brains were full. The instructors just wanted to get to the bar.

Tamara was driving the rental car. Max sat in the passenger seat and Ian was in the back. They made small talk back to the hotel. Neither had plans for the weekend.

They walked through the sliding door to the hotel and across the lobby. The staff greeted them by name and with a friendly wave.

Max was reaching for the button to call the elevator when he heard someone familiar call from across the room.

"Fine! Just fine!" The voice sounded more amused than annoyed. "Just walk on by!"

His face broke into an unconscious smile.

"I guess you're out for dinner," Tamara winked. Max's fellow instructors got into the elevator as he turned to greet his guest.

"What are you doing here?"

"Getting you to take me out on a date," Tempest gave him a friendly hug. His heart skipped a beat when she kissed him on the cheek.

She steered him towards the other elevator. They got in when the doors opened, and she pressed the buttons for five and eight.

When the door opened, she held the door for him. "I'm in room eight-two-two. Pick me up at six. Let's go some place nice."

Max got out, not realising until he was standing in the hallway that she had pretty much taken over his evening. And he really didn't mind.

A quick shower later, Max stared at his closet, wondering what he was supposed to be wearing. It was mid-October, and the temperatures were cool, but not cold. He decided that if she was going to make a big deal out of dinner, he should probably look nice.

He found a button-down shirt and a pair of slacks. He didn't put on a tie; he didn't want to be over-dressed. Still, he went into the closet and got out a nice-but-not-stuffy blazer and put on a pair of comfortable dress shoes.

After fidgeting around for a few minutes, he checked the clock, grabbed his wallet and keys, then went out to the elevator.

Knocking on the door to room 822 promptly at six, Max heard the girls's voices, some mad shuffling and then the door opened.

"Good evening, Max," Terra answered the door; he was only half-surprised to see Serafina and Brooke sitting in the living room of one of the hotel's two-bedroom suites. He got the feeling that the four sisters were pretty much inseparable.

It was the first time he had seen Terra or Brooke except for a passing glance in the elevator the week before. Of the four, they had the closest resemblance. Both had dark brown hair; Terra's longer than Brooke's. They were built like soccer players and dressed casually.

Serafina sat in one of the plush chairs. She had put her iPad down when their guest arrived. Easily the tallest of the sisters, Max had found out she was offered both a basketball and a volleyball scholarship to play for NC State, but turned them down to focus on school. From what he had gathered from the girls, all of the sisters were smart enough to have earned at least a partial academic scholarship, and their family was well-off enough that they didn't need to rely on athletic scholarships or loans to pay for school.

"Come in; she'll be ready in a minute." Terra offered him a seat on the couch.

The four of them made awkward small talk for a couple of minutes. The door to one of the bedrooms opened.

"Wow," Max breathed softly as Tempest strode into the room. She had changed from a t-shirt and shorts into a fitted autumn-appropriate cocktail dress that highlighted her curves without being revealing. It had a collar that was open, but didn't show off too much of her substantial cleavage. Her sandy-blonde hair was pulled back into a tight braid.

He stood to greet her. She twirled around once to show off, and giggled nervously.

"I guess we should be going." It took Max a second to find his voice.

"Don't stay out to late, Stormy," Brooke called from her side of the couch.

"Yes, Mommy," Tempest rolled her eyes. She retrieved her cell phone and her clutch. Max had to divert his eyes from her round backside to keep from staring.

He went to the door and held it open for his date, "Your chariot awaits, my lady."

Tempest smiled sweetly as she put her hand into the crook of his arm as they walked down the hallway.

"Your car?" she asked as he walked her across the parking lot. "A Crosstour?"

"It was my parents, and they gave it to me after college," he explained, nervously. It wasn't particularly sporty, but it still ran like a champ, despite being almost seven years old.

"I would not have pictured you driving one of these."

"Why not? It was free."

"Free is good. But these are just Accord sedans with a big butt."

"I like a big butt," he said with a wink. "Hey, that sounds like a song."

"That's good," Tempest giggled. "Because my butt is pretty big."

"Your butt is awesome," Max blushed. He opened the door for his date.

Before she got in, she stopped long enough to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight."

Max couldn't help but smile to himself as he went around to get into the driver's seat.

"Do you drive every time you travel?" she asked conversationally.

"When I'm not on the road, I live just south of Lexington, so I drove here for the mileage. If I'm going to the other side of the country, I usually fly. The company rents us a car to use so we're not stuck in a hotel for a month at a time." Max didn't want to admit to her that since was on the road for half the days in a year, he still lived with his parents. "Did you have a place you wanted to go?"

"Nope," Tempest replied with a wink. "Surprise me."

"Do you have any preferences? Allergies? Vegetarian?"

"I'm allergic to some wines but that's about it. Thank you for asking, though."

"How about sushi?" Max remembered reading an article that said a first date at a sushi restaurant gave the best odds to get a second date. If it's on the internet, it must be true, right?

"That sounds great . . . but only if you've eaten there before, and it's not a gas station or supermarket."

"I promise I will never take you on a date to a gas station or a supermarket." Max laughed and started up his Honda. The drive to the restaurant was quick. Tempest slipped her hand into his, making his pulse race. They got a table and ordered a small variety of sushi.

"So what are you doing here?" Max asked, not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, but also curious about what would bring the sisters back to Columbus. The sister who was getting married apparently lived in the area, but as near as he could tell, they had no other reason to visit. He certainly wasn't a draw for three of them, and he wasn't sure that Tempest would have come up on her own.

"Our family never passes up the chance to hit a ren faire," his date said with a wry smile. Max made a genuine effort to maintain eye contact, but throughout the night, he found his gaze wandering down to Tempest's chest. To his surprise, when she noticed, she didn't make a big deal out of it, and in fact, it seemed she sat up just a little straighter to show off her bosom. "I almost didn't tell my folks about it because there was a good chance they'd make the drive up themselves."

"Your folks got you going to ren faires young, huh?"

"Yup. And then some: SCA, Dragon Con, Star Wars Celebration, Gen Con, PAX. You name it, we were there. What about you?"

"Mostly local stuff growing up. We didn't have the money to travel a lot, but there's a ren faire outside of Louisville we used to go to a lot. Been to Gen Con a few times. Never been to Dragon Con, but I'd like to go."

"It's always a blast." Tempest said. "Maybe you can go with us next year."

"With my luck, the company will send me to Idaho or someplace like that next September," Max muttered. He paused a moment, not really sure he wanted to broach the next question. After a false start or two, he asked it anyway. "So why are you here this weekend?"

"My sisters have been giving me shit about how badly I treated you last weekend," she replied after a moment. She set her chopsticks down and grinned sheepishly. For someone who seemed so unafraid most of the time, she was flustered. "I don't always make the best choices . . . especially when it comes to guys . . . Mom says I'm too fearless for my own good. I jump into the deep end without looking. And I . . . I let my uterus make a lot of my decisions, especially when I've been drinking. Which I usually regret later."

Max wanted to say something, but he sensed she wasn't done.

"And after last weekend . . . when you could have done anything you wanted to me . . . Serafina said you were a perfect gentleman. And Gabi told me that I owed you a proper date." She paused for a moment and looked expectantly into Max's eyes. "So here we are. Brooke said I wasn't allowed to drink anything . . . and Terra said I couldn't be my usual bitchy self. I don't know if my sisters are on my side or yours."

Max laughed along with his date.

"Well, thank you for giving me the chance to have a real date with you." He reached across the table and took Tempest's hand. "I'm on the road so much, I don't get the chance to have anything resembling a normal social life. And I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

Tempest flushed with embarrassment. "My sisters made me come down and apologise to you last week. I was too embarrassed to show my face. Yeah, I'm a chickenshit."

"I don't think I'd ever use the word 'chickenshit' when describing you." Max breathed.

She looked away timidly and didn't respond. They finished their dinner, making polite, first-date type conversation. Tempest talked a little about her sisters. They found out they both liked Fifth Edition better than Fourth, but Pathfinder/3.5 was still their favourite, even if it meant needing a supercomputer to calculate a "to hit" roll sometimes.

"I dragged you out for this," Tempest made a grab for the check when it arrived, but she was too slow.

"I'm on an expense account," Max pointed out. In any case, he was in possession of the bill and had his company credit card out first.

"So what do you want to do now?" he asked as they got into his car.

"We have to get up early tomorrow." Tempest sighed with regret. Her fingers intertwined with his.

"What for?"

"We've got to get dressed for tomorrow," she reminded him. "It's not a fast process."

"Can I take you out for dinner tomorrow night, too?"

"You'd better . . . but I'm paying."

"Like hell you are," he scoffed. She looked like she was going to reply, but she didn't. Instead, she leaned against him as they drove back to the hotel.

Max walked her to the room she was sharing with her sisters.

They stopped at the door.

"Thank you for dinner, Max," Tempest said, taking his hands in hers.

"You're welcome," he said softly.

She tugged gently, closed her eyes and tilted her head back.

Max's lips went to hers. The kiss was soft and gentle at first. She nibbled on his lip.

He let go of her hands to cup her face. She pulled him close.

Her breasts were pressed flat against him. Tempest ran her hands up his back and down his arms.

She pulled back from the kiss. Their foreheads pressed together.

"You need to go, Max," she whispered as their noses brushed. "It was all I could do to keep my hands off you in the car. If you don't . . . I'm about to tear your clothes off and fuck the shit out of you right here."

"I'll be thinking about you all night," he teased.

"Don't wear yourself out," she giggled. "Save some for me."

"Good night, Tempest." He leaned in for one more kiss.

"Good night, Max."

She drew out her magnetic strip key, swiped it through the lock and disappeared into the darkened room.

*************

"Love, D.Va!"It was Tempest's text tone. Max groggily looked over at the clock. It was just after seven-thirty.

He reached for the phone. u missed breakfast :p we'll be in the lobby at 9.

Max stumbled out of bed and into the shower. Throwing on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, he went down to get something to eat.

Tamara was on the way back to her room as he got off the elevator. "Have a good date?"

"It was very nice," he said noncommittally, but blushed anyway. They two of them had taught the curriculum several times together and made a good team. She was married with a child in middle school and liked to give Max a hard time about being single and playing MMOs and computer games when he should be out meeting girls.

"Get a second date out of it?"

"I think so."

"Good luck," she winked before the doors shut.

Max fixed himself a waffle, got some eggs and overcooked bacon, then returned to his room.

He dressed quickly in a pair of calf-high leather boots, a kilt, and a simple Jacobite shirt. It took him a couple of minutes to add his belt, sporran, and sgian-dubh. His wallet, car keys and phone easily fit in the soft leather pouch.

There was a baldric for his claymore that hung across his body from one shoulder. It wasn't practical, but no one goes to a ren faire to draw a two-handed sword and besides, his outfit wasn't period-accurate by any means. But it was comfortable and he fit in as far as the general public knew.