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Toe the Line (Razgriz x Unknown)

Scott held back a chuckle, just a small grin appearing on his face as she took the hint of the fizz from the carbonated drink. She probably only had flat beverages before now; even so, he figured this would be better than an actual soda. "I'm glad; they have non-carbonated versions as well, but I've found those...Well, tasteless." he then half-joked; it was true, the 'flavors' in the water was barely there and was almost chemical in nature.

When she mentioned Halloween, he just had to snicker; he should have known she would get bombarded with requests. "Not really, but I think people just try to impress in their own ways. There are those who make costumes that cover a lot too." he would explain; of course, he had no real idea how much she really know about the holiday itself. The most he ever did was just leave a bowl of candy at his front door.

And when she showed him the actual requests, he slapped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing and appearing rude. "Sorry, sorry..." he said after catching his breath, adding "I guess that shows the quality of your product is good."

But...When she said she wouldn't make Halloween costumes that were risque, he did have another idea. She might have already done it, but...Couldn't hurt, especially if the demand was there. "Well...There's always another avenue for that sort of thing. Doesn't have to just be the holidays. You could always launch another line of clothing? Adultwear? We humans call it lingerie, underwear that's fun to wear, you know? Basically does exactly what you described. Gives potential partners something to 'look at', if they get close enough to them. That way people who buy it would reserve for special occasions. Anniversaries, birthdays, that sort of thing?"
 
Given that she had made select under garments for humans she looked up the specifics of lingerie on goggle with her phone. Seeing the variety and the nature of the garments she thought for a moment. That could work. It would be new for her as she mainly focused on actual clothing and standard underwear rather than lace. Looking back at him she smirked, this particular smirk was something that held a sly nature to it.

"Well I can certainly do that. I'll be needing some models for the clothing...males is easy so you can help with that, but for females...that's tricky. I only have myself and not every female is as large in the bust or hips as me...so. Someone is going to be asking the females that they work with if they're interesting in sampling some product. If they like it, after they've given their feed back, they can keep it. Sound like something you'd be able to do?"

He was living with a clothing designer now. So she was going to be needing models. Given that a lot of the females he worked with did like the fancier things and her company was considered a fortune five hundred company. Getting clothing that was usually very expensive for free just for trying it on and giving some feed back, it was one hell of a deal. Only thing was. It would look very strange when he hands a woman a box with a fancy laced bra and panties or a sexy lace teddy in it and asking her to take it home and try it on.
 
Scott wasn't too surprised to hear her ask about seeing if some of the people at his work would be interested. He was sure there were; sometimes men and women just needed a way to 'let their hair down' and for some, clothes did the trick. And it wasn't that he didn't want to help; no, if anything, he was all for trying to help her business.

It was just that if he tried to ask people at work, it could go very wrong in a number of ways. A conflict of interest would be the very least of his worries if he was found handing out sets of underwear to the female employees at his work.

"Hmmm...I don't know about just giving it the people at my work. Would be pretty strange to walk up to someone and say "Here, have some underwear", yeah? You could always put an ad in the paper or on your website? Tell them you're launching a new line of clothing and you're looking for people to sample it. And if you're alright with it, I can talk to some people at work, see if they can contact you at some point about purchasing your wares and trying them out like you said. That sound like a good compromise?"

At least this way, he would avoid a conflict of interest since he was only asking people to look at it.
 
Over the course of the next two weeks, after agreeing to his idea of him asking the women that he worked with to sample things and her putting an ad into the paper, Mia was very busy. On top of the heat that lasted for five hellish days of her taking more than one sedative, and thanks to Scott's scent being around the house, she had to barricade herself in her room for a good majority of that. With her heat done and over with, Mia got the ad out first and sent an official ad to his company emails.

She asked for human females and monster females to come to the house on off time, they'd be given proto-type clothing for them to wear, test and give feed back. If they liked the clothing, they were allowed to keep it free of charge. Over the course of the next week and some change, Scott would have several females coming to his home. Most of them were from his building but some were from around the city. Monsters and humans alike.

Each woman was measured, her tastes were given in a document to Mia, and the following day they would return for their clothing. Some women just sent their measurements and their tastes via email and came to pick it up when the email was sent back informing them that it was ready. Katie was one of the women who sent the email with her measurements and her tastes, then came to get it after Mia sent her a ready email. Coming home with Scott on a Friday after work, Katie slithered through the house and when the door opened to show Mia with her box, Mia looked a bit shocked she was such a beautiful Lamia.

"White Lamia are rare."
She said as she smiled and handed the box to Katie. Katie nodded a bit with a blush but took the box.
"Can I try them on in here?"
Mia glanced to Scott for a moment then smiled as she shooed him out of the room. Once the doors were closed she let Katie strip and try on her lingerie. Her breasts were large but they were perky as well which helped the bra support them nicely, giving them a nice pushed up look. Her panties weren't really panties. It was a garter that just made her lower half look sexier with lace, that and her bra was see through so that added to the sex appeal.

Katie giggled as she looked in the mirror and nodded. She gave her thoughts on it as well.
"It feels amazing, not too tight, comfortable and it doesn't pinch which is hard to find for my...size. I love it."
She said as she ran her hands along her breasts and shivered.
"Does nothing to dull the sensations either...also a plus."
She said as she smiled and glanced at the door. She'd love to show this to Scott but they weren't intimate.
"Do you like that human?"
"Huh? Oh...umm...is it obvious?"
"To me? Yes, to him? Probably not."

Mia said as she smiled and felt a small sting in her chest but she ignored it.
"It's just that he was the first human who saw past what I was...saw that I was smart and gave me a fighting chance to prove it to others. He's very kind, smart, in peak physical conditions..."
All qualities any sane monster female would look for in a mate to guarantee strong off spring.
 
More often than not, Scott was out of the house during Mia's heat cycle; even when was at home, he was sure to try and keep his distance from her on 'bad days', as well barricading his own door when he went to sleep. He was sure she would be able to manage herself if she tried anything, but it never hurt to make sure. Last thing he needed was a repeat of a week ago with things potentially going even further. And when the hell (for Mia) was over, things would resume a more normal situation

And while he wouldn't tell people to shop there in the name of keeping a conflict-of-interest at bay, he did drop that the Arachnid he was living with was an excellent clothes designer, and suggested they try her out. Which would mean he'd go him with stacks of notes and requests from both the humanoid and human females in his briefcase. And sometimes when he came home, women would be walking up to his doorstep to pick up clothing. And some times he would even see Mia herself greeting them; a fact that surprised him all too greatly, given her distaste for humans.

But...At the same time, this made him extremely happy. The fact that she was engaging other people showed him a great deal of personal development; it was one of those things he knew that she would have had to acquire for herself but seeing her actually do it elated him. This could very well work!

And one day, he would take Katie back to his place, allowing her to see the inheritance of his estate. He was thankful that despite all his crazy hours, he could afford to keep paying the property taxes on this place. Scott had followed her into where Mia was, introducing the two of them, a smile on his face as the two would get to talking before he was shooed out of the room. He kept an ear to the door; he knew some species of humanoids could be extremely territorial, so he wanted to be nearby to intervene if anything would happen.

And when she would go on to compliment the nature of the attire, describing the feel and nature of it...Scott had to admit he was starting to feel a bit hotter under the collar. A hand coming up to loosen his tie as mental images of her in the sexy underwear pervaded his mind, provoking an unconscious reaction down south. It didn't help that he did consider her an attractive woman in many respects, even if he wasn't necessarily sexually interested in her.

When he noticed this, however, he mentally cursed and tried to will it back down; god damn how embarrassing, he thought. This was a co-worker, for goodness sake! And an understudy of his, no less!

However...Her next words stunned him, hearing her list off his qualities like a well-made list; she actually liked him? And as childish as it sounded, he had to wonder if it was 'liked' or 'liked liked'. He'd assumed that most Lamia wouldn't be interested in him, since even while he was fit he wasn't exactly 'buff' like most men would claim. And it wasn't that he wasn't flattered...He just wasn't sure how to process that. He couldn't do anything at work, not that he would want to since it would jeopardize both of their careers. But if he did invite her to lunch or something, maybe they could talk more.

Yeah, that would work...Plus, hearing her say those things made him smile. She was too sweet, he thought; and when Katie would be finished and leave, Scott just smiled at Mia. "You know, Mia...This is probably going to sound really corny, but I am proud of you for these past few days. You've really grown since we first met." he would then say to her.
 
After Katie left, her new lingerie in her bag, she thanked Mia and Scott before departing. Mia was making a small list of pro's and cons that she could work with while running over some of the other customers when she looked up. Listening to him she smirked.
"Yes well, I will admit, I had no intention of meeting my clients face to face but some of them specifically asked for it. I was actually surprised how many of them seemed happier that I was an Arachnid...maybe a reality that the silk is legit and as fine as it could be? I don't know. Also, Katie is adorable."

She said as she smiled and looked at a small list of bra's that Katie wanted to purchase from Mia, which Mia would give to her half off for being a humanoid and for being such a sweet female. Even if Mia did feel a slight sting of jealousy when Katie mentioned liking Scott, she did bring up a good point. In terms of mating and off spring, he was an ideal candidate. All of the properties that females looked for wrapped in a three piece suit.

Most human females looked at a male for his bank account and what he drove. Monsters cared more about what would carry over into the off springs. Money and clothing had nothing to do with infants. How they were genetically gifted mattered. Thinking to the reason her mother fell so hard for her step father made her smile. He was a lot like Scott...not as dense when it came to female attraction though. Her dad had gone after her mother...not the other way around. Still, his other qualities made the oblivious nature somewhat cute.

Spending some time chatting with Scott about the details and the pro's and cons that the females had she joined him for dinner while making some adjustments to her drawings then she and Scott went to bed as it had been a long day for the both of them. By the time Mia was up, Scott had already left for work but she had more things to work on so that didn't really matter. She'd given seven more outfits to seven more females and that completed her testing phase. Looking over the reviews and how many women loved her clothing, she decided to open the line for Adult Lingerie in her company for mass production.
 
"Even so...I am happy that you did." Scott would simply say back, keeping that sincere smile about his face. He might be that classical 'oblivious' guy when it came to girls who liked him, but at the same time he was often so wrapped up in his work that he just plain didn't see people as either friends, clients or co-workers. Mia still fell in the middle category, even if she was living with him for the moment.

All the same, he was more than still a little surprised hear Katie's confession; he couldn't help but wonder how far her feelings actually went. One day, he would try to ask her without embarrassing the hell out of her. He imagined that she would assume a right of privacy, which he would totally agree with. But part of him also wanted to know, if only to sate his own curiosity, as selfish as that sounded.

And after a light but filling dinner made by Mia, their conversation steered more in the direction of her business, Scott would be off to bed. He had to go in early tomorrow, to meet with the judge and finalize some paperwork on the Oni's case. Even if it had been thrown out, there was some final details that needed finishing. Nothing major, just officially declaring the case done and over with.

And for today after all was said and done, he asked Katie to meet him to do a short evaluation of how she was feeling over a late lunch; she had given him a good idea of how things were going when she came to him with her vacation request. But he felt this would be a chance to really explain things, let her delve into things and open up to him about any concerns. "Katie, thanks for meeting me here. Just figured you and I could talk, you know? See how things are around the office for you." he would say to his co-worker.
 
When Katie came into the office she was wearing a soft pink blouse with a black suit jacket over her blouse and the ever present dress she wore since she couldn't wear anything with pant legs. Her long platinum white hair was in a tight bun today while a few stray bangs dangled on either side of her face, acting as a frame per say. Looking at Scott she smiled a wide smile and used her tail to close the door behind her as she moved in front of the desk and curled her serpent body under herself to act like she was sitting down. Like any feral serpent, Katie had the ability to extend three fourths of her body using just the muscle in her body alone so she could effectively 'stand' at over seven feet tall with no issues.

Sitting on her coils she curved her bangs behind her ear and looked down for a moment before giving a sheepish smile.
"It's been a little awkward. People asking me about the heat cycle. They apparently learned about it from other humanoids so they know that my vacation was for that reason. Troy...he's been really trying to figure it out."
Troy was a human intern who had the reputation as a ladies man in college and seemed to carry that ego with him now. He'd taken interest in Katie simply because her human half was very attractive and some humans did sleep with humanoids as a way of trying something new. A notch on the belt. Troy was no exception to this mentality and Katie knew that.

However like most humanoid's, she didn't speak or complain about human co-workers simply because for the most part, humanoid complaints weren't taken into consideration and when they were, other co-workers saw them as attacking them for being human. The same thing that a human female would file as sexual harassment was seen as a humanoid getting aggressive about the small things.
"It's okay though, he usually stops when I ignore him or tell him I'm busy."
Which was a lie. He'd really been hassling her, telling her that if she needed someone to help her with her heat, he'd help. Even touching parts of her human half that were not work friendly but she kept quiet.

"Other than that, I'm doing good. A few of my clients have sent in good reports about how I worked with them."
 
Scott frowned a bit as she told him that people were asking her about her heat cycle; and when she brought out Troy a noticeable look of displeasure crossed his face. Troy, while Scott was certain wasn't the malicious sort, didn't exactly seem the civil sort when it came to humanoid females. He was very accepting of them, but likely for only certain reasons.

And when she would then try to play it off, Scott sat up a little straighter. If there was one thing he had learned with Lamia...It was that they were either very good or very bad liars. And poor Katie was probably pressuring herself into not 'rocking the boat'; he knew all too well the struggles of humanoids in the workplace when it came to filing grievances. Next to none were taken seriously, or if they were investigated it was a very quick 'did you do this' and that was usually the end of it. And while he was trying to fight for general equality for humanoids on a legislative level, getting people to acknowledge it was another battle altogether.

Regardless, he wouldn't press the issue; giving her a smile, he would just say "Well that's all excellent to hear, Katie. I was reviewing some of the cases you handled, just part of the managerial process, you know how it is. Very impressive; I only wish all the new associates had your sort of drive." Of course, given her status as a humanoid and what she had said about him last night, he imagined that she was busting her tail (not literally so) to try and really show what she was capable of.

Of course, she'd proven himself to him many times over; even as a junior associate, Katie was remarkably skilled and able to multi-task quite effectively. "Even so, Katie...Just promise me one thing would you? If things start getting a little too much for you, don't be afraid to come and ask me for help alright?"

Standing up, he would then say, "Well, I think we both deserve a lunch break. How about we try that cafe just down the block? My treat."
 
Katie gave him a bright thousand watt smile when he commented her, but that smile faltered a tad when he mentioned coming to him with any issues. She just gave him a forced smile and nodded. She wouldn't be going to him with any troubles simply because she wouldn't open her mouth about any. It was better for her just to ignore and brush off the trouble then to try and resolve it as humans were very touchy about anything involving humanoids.

His mention of getting lunch had a blush slap her cheeks as she nodded enthusiastically and smiled another genuine smile.
"That sounds lovely!"
Her eyes widened as she realized her increase in volume and blushed again before clearing her throat as she gave a sheepish giggle.
"I mean. Of course. Let me just grab my purse."
She said as she left the office, the tip of her tail was wiggling like a worm on a hot sidewalk. Like dogs, when a Lamia's tail wiggled like hers was, it showed high amounts of excitement as well as nerves.

Once her purse was on her shoulder, she came back to his office and smiled.
"I'm ready when you are."
The walk across the street to the cafe was very refreshing for Katie as she just held idle chat with Scott, smiling the entire time. Once at the cafe, one of the few that catered to humanoids, she ordered some hard boiled eggs, a salad with grilled chicken and water. As she sat on her coils she looked to his tie.
"Is that one of Mia's ties? I must say, the clothing that she can make is wonderful. The...er...items...she gave me yesterday were very comfortable and fit perfectly. It's very hard for me to find anything that fits that nicely. I actually made some custom orders from her. She also offered to make some jean skirts. I very rarely get to wear anything with jean material because of my size so it's very exciting for me. Are you two getting along? Do you have any questions about the Arachnid social build?"
 
Scott just smiled as the rise of her voice echoed in his office; given what he knew about her now, it was actually kind of endearing to see her so flustered. He didn't notice the tail wiggle, just chuckling as he checked a few last things before she would be ready to leave. "Alright then! Let's go eat." he would say upon her return; the pair certainly seemed the odd couple as they would leave the office. Even if there were the number of human-humanoid couples walking about outside in the bright sun-lit day, it still wasn't too common.

After ordering a turkey club and a Pellegrino, he would look down at his tie as she commented on it, as well as the offer she was made. Well now, Mia was getting more and more surprising; denim wasn't an easy material to work with. But then again, he doubted there was any sort of material she couldn't make; she seemed exceptionally skilled for her craft. "It is; seems that every tie I own came from her collection. She's got quite the repertoire of ability...And you're right, her clothes are amazing."

Smiling some more, he was then asked about their current relationship. "Well, we seem to have been getting along; I'm just glad she's opening up. Admittedly, there was probably more I could have done to help learn about her kind's social structure. There's much I still don't know...But I will definitely take all the help I can get, Katie. I appreciate it. Is there anything in particular I should know? Is their structure in any way similar to the Lamia?" And honestly? He was kind of glad she asked; anything he could do to try and help make her feel more comfortable would be welcomed. And given Katie was a humanoid, it was likely she would have insight that he simply wouldn't have considered.
 
Katie smiled as she looked at him and nodded, swallowing one of her eggs whole before thinking for a moment.
"I don't know a lot about her specific race but I have befriended a few arachnids when I was younger. When not around humans they're very friendly, playful, chatty, a little too affectionate at times but over all they're night and day difference when around humans. Human's see the scary spider half and that's it. So they are quite and anti-social due to how humans treat them. However if you take the time, they're some of the sweetest and affectionate females around."

Chewing some of her salad Katie continued on by going into some detail about how Arachnid social structure works. How they don't hide anything from one another. It's not uncommon for one arachnid to just walk into another's home and just walk around like it's their home. They rely on teamwork when doing anything large and complex but are more than capable of handling smaller tasks on their own. Independent for the most part but cooperative when needed.

"Her abilities with clothing is something that I've heard her clan is very happy about and for the first year or so, they were the main consumers of her company products as it is so hard for an arachnid to find good clothing. Our structure is fairly similar in many ways yes. Respect and eye contact are big with the Arachnids as well. Personal space is a bit different though. Lamia's are distant till comfortable. Arachnids can feel emotion through vibrations and smell it as well. So they tend to be a little closer or just touching to get a better read. It wouldn't surprise me if every room and hall in your home had a web in it that was directly linked to a whole network of webs somewhere in her room. She would be able to hear you no matter where you are. For them, it's both because of their curious nature and for self defense. You'll never get the drop on her.'
 
"Seems like humans are a major trigger for them. I know Mia had a lot of bad run-ins but I had no idea it was this bad." Scott said to himself, a small frown on his face as Katie explained that whenever humans were around the Arachnids' personalities seemed to switch into a more reserved and quasi-territorial one. She was right about one thing; from what he'd seen, Mia was in fact quite a lovely woman to be around.

But when she brought up how Arachne kept tabs on their surroundings, it definitely made him think; did she set up such a system in his house? Wouldn't be surprising if she did, and it wasn't like it would be hurting him. Plus, he had to kind of chuckle at how sophisticated it was; most modern security systems couldn't have that kind of coverage if they tried. And from what he'd seen, she could make those threads very thin, so even the best trained human eye couldn't pick them up.

Still....Something was telling him to try and clear the air. "So...If Lamia are distant until comfortable, I guess that means you're comfortable around me then?" he would say with a small smile, adding on, "Katie...I'm not going to beat around the bush, alright? When you were at my place, I...Well, I overheard what you said in Mia's room, and I have to say, I'm very flattered you think that way about me. But...If I can ask, why me?"
 
When he brought up the fact of her race and how they were then how she saw him that just made her smile and nod, a small blush dusting her cheeks. The following words made that small dusting turn into a full blown fever hitting her cheeks as she looked at him with wide eyes then looked at her food, tapping her fork against the eggs before sighing.

"Well thank you for telling me and coming out with it. Why you ask? While we try to act like humans, we still hold to our feral aspects as well. When looking for a mate, we look for dominance, strong characteristics, intelligence and health. You fit that bill. In our more human self, we look for the ability to be dominant yes but still hold that softer side that allows you to mingle and comfort a female. You have that by the truck load. You're very intelligent but you don't speak to me like I'm dumber than you are and the most important factor for me is...you took a chance on me when no other human would."

Smiling at him she set her fork down and looked at him, reaching out and placing her fingers just barely on his.
"You saw my potential and saw past my race. Yes your firm is opening their doors to more humanoids but that doesn't mean the employee's are. You don't seem to see me as any different from a human employee and that is a very attractive feature. So that's why I like you."
Smiling and blushing so hard she felt her cheeks would start melting off, she busied herself with eating some hard boiled eggs and drinking more water to try and help cool her skin.
 
Scott blinked a bit when she said 'mate'; did he hear that right? He was still flattered all the same; in a way, she just confessed to him being a humanoid's worthy material of a mate. Especially as she started rattling off why she felt that way like a well-rehearsed list. But it didn't feel like she was reading it from a script; no, as far as he could tell she was being very much genuine. And whether that helped or not for him, well, the jury was still out there.

"Uhm...Sure, just figured it'd be best to be honest about it." Scott replied at first, suddenly feeling quite parched himself and taking his water. Trying to relieve the near-immediate dryness he felt in his mouth; how could he even respond to that? Granted he was beyond flattered she thought so highly of him.

"Katie...I...Well, I honestly don't know what to say. I know it's still very early for humanoids in getting others to accept them, but really most of the reason you succeeded wasn't just because I gave you a chance. You proved yourself through your work ethic and ability to multitask; even the equity partners are impressed by you."

And...Now he was feeling a bit flustered, taking another large sip of water to try and cool himself off. "A-anyway...I'm glad we managed to get that out of the way. Sorry, you know, if I made things awkward by asking about that."
 
Katie smiled and shook her head.
"One of the main differences in humans verses humanoids is that humans date through trial and error to try and find their mate. We humanoids rely and trust our instincts. That will tell us who is just for fun and who is someone we should keep. That being said, this wasn't awkward, it let me know where I stand with you and it allowed me to talk to you on a more personal level."
Giving him a wink she finished up her lunch with him and on the way back to the office she explained a bit more about her particular culture as well as the arachnid one.

While she didn't know a lot about the arachnids given how they tended to steer clear of all other races, she did enlighten him on how most females acted around a suitable male. A lot of the things she mentioned were signs that Mia had done once or twice.
"The more she is willing to be around you and to be near you, the more accepted you are. You also have to take into account, you're dealing with a female that has never been seen as that...a female. She's been seen as a monster. So treating her like a woman is something I'm sure she appreciates, even if it is very new to her."

Heading back to her own office when they returned, Katie smiled as she sent a text to Mia to inform her of what she'd talked about with Scott and to let the female know that lightening up with him wasn't something she needed to deny herself of.

------------------------------------------

Sitting in her room, Mia read over the text while working on her next batch of shipments and sighed. True, he had seriously stepped up in his role as care taker/roommate and he was going out of his way to help her in areas that weren't really deemed his problem by the courts. Smirking a bit, Mia just shook her head and set her phone down. He did seem to be making it a point to spend as little time as possible at home and while she understood her heat being the main reason, her heat was gone now.
 
Scott was sure to thank Katie for the company and the advice; he hadn't realized that Mia could have seen him in that sort of light. "I'm glad we had this talk too; I do want you to know, however, that I am here if you need anything. And I hope we can remain good friends." He honestly wasn't sure how well Lamia took rejection of an advance, especially if the woman was smitten with someone. But...The climate was simply too volatile right now to try and do anything public. Least of all here.

Still...Katie was also right about something else. Mia had always been treated as a freak of nature, never a being with thoughts, goals, and feelings of her own. And...It wouldn't help their relationship if he kept using his work as an excuse to keep his distance from her. But...He'd honestly thought she didn't want him near. Even so...He would make an offer of friendship, take her out to dinner. There was a bistro not too far from his home, one that was more than a little accommodating to humanoids than most would expect or believe...Or even want.

And...Reinforce the fact that some of the employees were the burlier humanoid species themselves - Taurs, Fuzzy Arachnid, and others - and that meant anyone who tried to cause trouble was promptly dealt with and tossed out. Even more surprising? A human family managed the business, and from what he'd tasted before, the food was spectacular.

Once the day was over, Scott drove right home, loosening his suit jacket and tie. "Mia! I'm back!" he called out; he guessed she was probably in her room, working on her projects. Going up to the door, he gave a few soft knocks and said, "Hey, Mia...You in there? I was thinking we'd go out tonight...There's this Austrian place, Grünauer Bistro, that has special accommodations for humanoid customers. Would you like to come with me?"
 
Mia had been mulling over some of her work that day, wondering what to do and how to work it into the seasons chart. As she stood there she heard the knock, but not before her webbing let her know he'd opened the door. Looking at the door she walked over and opened it right as he was asking about going out to eat. Mia was currently wearing a tube top and nothing else, showing off a toned stomach. Smooth and strong, but still holding its feminine allure, her pale skin just complimenting that even more.

"Dinner?"
She asked in a confused tone. She'd heard about the Bistro from other humanoids she'd been around but had never gone. They even catered to Ogres who were bigger than her so that was a feat on it's own. Looking down at her current dress ware she flushed a bit and turned around as she looked at the outfits she had in the room. NOPE. None of them would be good.

"I-I would like that. Umm...j-just give me some time to get dressed."
She said as she was trying to piece together a nice outfit in her mind while also trying to squeeze out of the room and into her actual room to get ready. Once in her room she took a quick shower to clean some sweat from her skin before opening her closet. The place was formal but it wasn't fancy. Since it catered to so many races, it was more a casual dress. So Mia went with a nice light blue blouse and a black silk skirt that hugged her legs. She needed her skirts to be tight since her legs were usually hiked up against her front anyways.

Blow drying her hair and straightening it she applied a light amount of make up while mentally scolding herself for actually taking the time to do so.
'What am I doing?! This is just dinner! There's no meaning behind it other than food.'
Snapping her mini mirror closed she sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"Whatever. It's good enough."
She said as she made some last minute adjustments and sprayed some light perfume on her neck before opening her door about half an hour later.

Tucking her hands into her lap as she stood in the living room she waited for Scott to come down and when he did she had a light flush to her cheeks.
"R-ready."
 
And when Mia accepted his offer, he called to double check that his reservation would still be open; he had called on the way home, just in case she did say yes. It would be easier to cancel it than it would be to find one, after all. And while this place wasn't super high-end, it was a decent enough fare and quality that one could indeed call it a semi-formal restaurant. He changed out of his suit, took a quick shower himself and changed into a white button-down shirt with a solid-red necktie, black dress pants and another pair of black dress shoes. Business casual was fine enough; he'd checked before making the reservation after all.

And when he was ready, he would find Mia waiting for him; and if she looked, she would see his eyes widen a little. Not in total surprise, but definitely a lack of expectation. Giving a gentle smile, he would then say in quite the honest tone, "Mia, you look great. Shall we?"

Of course, with her larger lower half, his car wouldn't fit the two of them; so for tonight, they would take Mia's business vehicle as their means of transportation. And when they arrived, they would be able to find a spot near the front of the restaurant. Fortuitous given the usual nightmare of upper east side parking; once outside the restaurant, Scott would then present his arm for Mia to hook it through. Honestly? After his talk with Katie, he did realize it couldn't hurt to show more of a gentlemanly side. "An escort for the lady?" he would then say, a small teasing smile on his lips but the effort quite sincere.

They would soon find a demure, dark-haired woman in black dress pants, a white long-sleeved button down and a black vest waiting at the door. "Hello! Welcome to Grunauer Bistro! Do you have a reservation?" she would ask, the right amount of cheer in her voice to not be so nasally or high-pitched sounding. "Yes, under Scott Hanley. For two, please." he would reply; and after a few minutes, they would be led to a table that had modified seating for an Arachnid. It was a wide padded seat - the pad itself fringed in lace and sterling white in color - in the shape of a semi-circle, to allow her to rest her lower body on the seat and not be forced to stand throughout the whole meal if she didn't want to. "Your server will be with you momentarily. Enjoy your stay!" the woman said happily, leaving the two of them to their business after leaving them their menus.

Scott looked around, seeing similar seating adjustments for the different species: It was quite the extraordinary sight, to see so much accommodation for a relatively under-represented class of people. And even better, the ambiance was quite serene; seemed that they enforced a noise limit to protect the more skittish customers. Talking volume was fairly low, and the openness of the patio outside meant that reverb was cut down.

"What do you think, Mia? Nice place, right?" Scott would ask, taking a look through some of the items. Honestly, he had Germanic before, but some of these things sounded quite interesting. The menu was small but seemed well-rounded. "Hmm...What are you thinking of getting? I'm honestly at a loss, haha."
 
After getting to the restaurant Mia stepped out of the back of the vehicle cautiously. She glanced around a bit before suddenly finding Scott right beside her with his arm held out for her. She paused for a moment before smiling and shaking her head as she slipped her arm into his. Part of her was afraid that the chitin armor she naturally had on her limbs would be uncomfortable but he didn't show it. Looking at the waitress she smiled a bit but she was smiling at her attire. She liked the color contrast.

When they were taken to the table, she was shocked to see a seat specifically designed for her race as a whole but also for her specific breed. Shadow Arachnid's rarely showed themselves in public. Sitting down on the chair she made a mental note of how it was designed and the over all placement of the cushions. Smiling a bit.
"This is comfortable."
She said as she scooped some of her hair behind her ear and looked over the menu. Glancing around she did see one other arachnid on the upper floor with a human as well. Raising an eyebrow the female arachnid smiled and looked rather happy with the human.

She then saw that the arachnid was a smaller race, one that was easily able to be seen as less of a threat. Sighing a bit she looked back to Scott as he was asking about what she wanted to eat. This dragged her attention to the menu and as she looked it over she saw a brisket meal complete with potatoes and carrots. Smiling a bit she chose that because her human step father used to make brisket all of the time and his was delicious. So she decided to try that.

"The Brisket, potatoes and carrots looks good to me."
She said as she remembered a few times where her father would be at the grill for hours making sure the brisket was cooking thoroughly. He was very meticulous about that, but that never stopped him from playing with her as a child. If every human could have been as open minded as her father, this possible war wouldn't even be a thought. Reaching up to her chest she stroked the small Onyx pendant that her father had given her when she turned 18. The last gift she had from him, thus the most precious.

"So...what spawned this outing? I would have thought you were getting closer to Katie."
 
Scott hadn't seen the other human and Arachnid, but it was doubtful he would have been surprised if he did; among being quite the reputable eatery for its fare, it was one of the first to cater to non-human clientele. A trait which rapidly increased its profile and revenue; they even went so far as to hire several humanoids as employees, something that at the time of its opening was relatively unheard of in Upper New York.

The man, however, was just happy above all else to see Mia enjoying herself. Even if they had yet to order, speaking of which it sounded like she had made up her mind. He himself would likely go for the chicken paprikash. "Well then...I'd say we're about ready to order. I know what I want." he would say, closing the menu before looking at her as she posed her question.

However, before he could respond, the waitress - a young one-tailed 'foxwoman', colloquially labeled 'Kitsune' by the younger generation - came over to their table. Her hair black as night, unrestrained by a hair tie would easily go down to the middle of her back, her slender figure clad in the same style uniform as the hostess at the door, she gave the pair a warm smile. "Greetings, my name is Saya. I'll be your waitress this evening. Did you two need a few minutes, can I start you off with any appetizers?"

And after placing their order, having ordered some of the beef consomme and gravlax to start off the meal, Scott returned his focus to Mia. "Sorry about that. But, since you asked...Well, I kind of wanted to set us off on the right foot. And to be truthful? Work has been busy, but...I've been using it as a bit of a crutch. I got the feeling you weren't exactly comfortable around me...I know your interactions with humans haven't been all that pleasant, so I tried to keep a respectable cushion between us. We're going to be living together for six months, after all; last thing I want to do is make you feel stifled or forced to stay."

Taking a small breath, he then finished with, "Basically...Consider it a chance to try and help you interact in public, and an apology for being so distant these past few weeks. And as for Katie? She actually suggested something like this. Besides...I've been looking for an excuse to take a date to this restaurant." That last bit was said with a slightly teasing grin and playful chuckle, nothing malicious of the sort, really.
 
Mia smiled at Saya and inspected how she was dressed as well. The inner fashion designer in her was inspecting her body to see what would look good on her since she was proportioned perfectly to make any outfit look amazing. After their orders were placed and Saya left, Mia returned her attention to Scott as he spoke up about her question before the orders were given. Smiling a bit she just rest her elbows on the table and laced her fingers, resting her chin on her hands as they were locked together. When he was done explaining himself she giggled.

"Well just be sure to bring Katie here too. I'm sure you can find another reason to bring a date here. Something you humans are famous for is being completely oblivious to the fact that you have a damn fine female right within your grasp. Katie is stellar in both body and mind...and heart. You'd be an absolute idiot not to reach out and grab her...or gay. One of the two."

Taking a sip of her water she moved some hair behind her ear.
"As for you and I. Apology accepted, but I haven't exactly given you a lot of chances either. I'm either locked in my design room or my bedroom. Even if you don't necessarily fear a spider, humans seem to generally dislike my kind because some of us can get rather large. So a normal feral spider that you can easily crush under your shoe isn't scary but one that stands three feet over you is terrifying. You yourself have shown some signs of discomfort more than once."

Smiling a bit she shrugged as she mentioned how she was used to it then looked up at the human and arachnid couple before focusing on her water.
"I've only ever seen one human completely unphased by our appearance. From start to finish he was unaffected and simply treated us like any normal female. My dad. He loved my mother despite her appearance, even played with me when I was little. Most humans would cringe at letting an infant arachnid crawl all over them. He was the one who taught me how to use my feet to grip things like walls. I went to a school for humanoids but my freshman year...no one asked me to the dance. So he went with me and danced with me."

Smiling she clutched the necklace under her blouse.
"He was truly one in a million...still...I appreciate the effort on your part, but you don't need to try that hard if you're uncomfortable."
 
Bringing Katie here might be difficult; right as he was about him trusting her, he knew she had a valid point about people at his place of employment still not being fully accepting of humanoids. He would definitely try, but too much of them being seen together could be tried and used as evidence that he was essentially 'trading favors for sex', even if no sex took place at all. Even so, he had to laugh when she commented on him being stupid or gay. Stupid? Probably, but he kind of had to be if he were to keep his job and not make Katie lose hers.

"Remember our discussion about human politics and how complicated it was? Well, same thing applies to workplace relations unfortunately. I do think she is a wonderful woman...And besides, we already spoke. We're both fairly clear on where we stand with each other." he would say with a small smile.

Even so, he did frown a bit when she called him out on being uncomfortable around her. Even more so when she implied that he was basically trying too hard. "Mia...I'm not doing this because I feel like I need to." he would start, his voice quiet but quite firm in its tone. "I'm doing this because I want to. Your appearance doesn't bother me in the slightest; if anything, I'm more deathly afraid of snakes than I am of spiders. My mother was a taxonomist focusing specifically on arthropods, including every species within the Arachnida order." He wasn't trying to impress her, more help her see that his effort wasn't one of implied necessity, but more a genuine desire to get to know her on a more personal level.

In Katie's words....To treat her more like a human being than a monster.

And when their starters arrived - two bowls of the beef consomme and the gravlax dish - Scott would continue on, "As I said, I felt like too much of my presence in the house would have only aggravated you. But...I just want you to know that I'm here if you need, or if you just want someone to talk to and be around."
 
"Well you mother sounds like someone I would have loved to chat with. Just seeing if she'd treat me like a science experiment."
She said as she smirked before leaning back as the food was brought in. When Saya left, Mia turned her attention back to Scott as he spoke about making up for not being around and why he wasn't in the first place.
"To be fair. My heat took up about a week of that so no fault there."

After that she just stuck to speaking about his work, trying to learn a bit more about the law system and how it went along with his friendship with Katie. Hearing the implications she sighed.
"Humans are complicated. Why can't people just love one another without people thinking it's favoritism?"
Mia mainly asked that to herself rather than Scott but she just waved her hand and took a bite of her food. Smiling at the taste before she spoke a bit on how she'd first gotten interested in clothing.

Informing him that it was because she'd made a dress for her mother so that her mother could have something new to wear for her and her father's wedding anniversary. It had been a big success and since then, she'd loved doing it because she loved seeing the smiles when people tried on clothing that was designed to fit them specifically.
"It shows that the designer is listening and taking your thoughts and your desires into context rather than just mass producing the same thing. That's why I had originally started designing for humanoids only. Several Centaurs loved my clothing because it's so hard for their women to find clothing, especially pregnant women."

Pulling up her phone she showed some pictures that she cherished of Centaur females wearing her outfits with radiant smiles. A few of their children wearing clothing she made for them as well. She also had pictures of Lamia, Bulls, and then a picture of her mother. Her mother's hair was longer and it had more blonde in it, but she was a striking mirror image of her mother. Her father was also in the picture holding a young and smiling version of Mia. She looked to be about two in the picture. The man was very handsome, well built like Scott and was holding her so that her spider legs were wrapped around his torso and her little hands were playing with his cheeks as he was laughing and pretending to eat her hands.

Her mother was standing behind them with a bright smile while tickling Mia's sides.
"This is my most treasured picture of them."
 
Scott was glad for the topic change; any further and it could have escalated into needless arguing. Both lived very different lives, himself living a rather comfortable if somewhat exhausting life, and Mia living her own under an unfortunate circumstance of rampant systemic oppression. When she asked why love was so hard for humans, Scott would just reply about how humans had always had extensive rules on love and relationships. Even before the modern age of today, and that was saying something.

At some point though, he did want to know more about how Mia became such a successful seamstress and designer. Her tale was intriguing in the sense that her first 'customers' were her own parents, but it was more than a little heartwarming to hear her talk about how her mother smiled when she had such a lovely dress to wear for her anniversary. And how that reason fed her desire to make those same smiles appear on others.

If only the panel could have heard this side of Mia, he imagined they would have quite a different opinion of her. At least a couple of them would, that much as certain in his mind.

And when she showed her most treasured photo of her parents, Scott asked to hold her phone, promising to give it right back. A smile crossed his face as he would then say, "I can see why." She was really was quite cute in this...And he could tell she loved her father a lot. He must have been quite the man to go against the grain so much; Scott could only wish there were more like him in the world.

Worse still...He knew she was an orphan, and didn't want to potentially rub a sore spot for her, especially with the tragic conditions to how her parents were taken from her. It was hard enough for human kids to grow up without parents...But in a world that would sooner see you dead than cared for? He couldn't even begin to fathom what that was like for her. Even so, he would hand her her phone back...But placed both his hands on her own, feeling the coolness of her chitin against his warmer skin.

"And Mia...I know they would be proud of you. For everything you've done, and you're doing now."
 
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