"Because I didn't give you a choice," Sera said with a big grin. "Come on, I'll pay for lunch." Sera went up to te window to order.

Damien gave up on cleaning and went to go eat. He texted Taylor just one word: Lunch?

"I should be back at the library going through the rare books collection," Rose pointed out, "not here doing god-knows-what."


Taylor immediately sent a reply. Sounds great.

"You're taking your lunch break. Besides, the first day is always the worst, so you deserve to take a break." Sera grinned. "And the rare books will still be there on the weekend. This is just a better salary and more opportunities to see a certain cat keeper."

Meet you over at the Mexican place. Damien started walking, taking a short cut through one of the tunnels that went under an exhibit.

"You're evil and sadistic and I don't know why I put up with you," Rose said flatly as Sera effectively cornered her so she had to stay in the line for the Mexican place. Granted, the line was short, so they were able to get their food and sit down quickly.

Taylor waited for Damien outside of the Mexican place.

"You look about as freaked out as I've felt all morning," he observed dryly.

Sera merely smiled and paid for their food once they ordered, waiting for it to come out on a tray. She took the tray and handed Rose one of the two cups before moving over to a table to sit.

"I think I know why," Damien said. "Look." He nodded to the two girls, watching them pick out a table and sit down. "...Why is Rose wearing a park shirt?"

Rose sent Sera a half-hearted glare and filled her cup with ice water before sitting down.

"As much as the still-offended part of me loathes to mention, the tank for the snake looks pretty good," she said after a moment.

Taylor blinked.

"What?" he asked. He glanced over and saw the girls. "Beats me. I thought the administration was going to hire some sort of database management specialist for the departments to share."

Sera smiled, genuinely pleased. "Thanks," she said. "I figured we could pick up a snake this weekend, go together and pick one. As long as that's good with you."

"I dunno." Damien shrugged and went to go get in line to get food. "I'll ask once we get over there."

"We'll figure something out," Rose replied. "I have to be at the library this weekend, remember? They wouldn't let me go completely."

Taylor followed Damien to the line.

"I suppose this is why I felt a sense of impending doom this morning," he commented. "It's unusual for them to be here so early in the week, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I know. We can go before or after," Sera said with a shrug. "We'll find time."

"They're normally not," Damien said, glancing over at them. "I wonder what they're doing here now..."

"Maybe Saturday afternoon," Rose suggested. "The library closes at three that day, so we'd have all afternoon."

"Didn't you say Rose worked at a library or something?" Taylor asked. "Maybe her hours changed or something like that." He grinned. "Use your super feline hearing and try to hear what they're saying."

"Sounds good to me." Sera grinned and looked over and saw the two guys standing there. "Want company from your new coworkers?"

Damien gave him a very droll look. "How about you use your incubus wiles to get Sera to tell you?"

"What?" That startled Rose into looking around, and she quickly spotted the two guys.

"Because Rose is right next to her and I doubt you want her within ten miles of whatever I might do," Taylor pointed out.

Sera grinned and waved at the guys cheerily. "I'm taking your stunned response as a 'yes'."

"Well I can get Rose somewhere else after lunch and I'll ask her and you can ask Sera." Damien smiled, pleased with that very diplomatic response.

"I know where you sleep, Sera," Rose muttered. She wasn't quite sure she was ready to talk to Damien before she'd really gotten her bearings.

Taylor waved back.

"Seems we've been invited over," he said.

"I know." Sera just grinned and took a sip of her drink.

"Looks like." Damien got his food and walked over to the table. "Hello again."

"I didn't think we'd run into each other again so soon," Rose commented as the guys sat down. "Then again, I live with Sera, I should expect such things."

Which just proved to Taylor that he and Damien must have developed some sort of instinct when it came to Sera. After all, if Rose said to expect things like that, then the sense of doom earlier must have been some sort of early-warning thing.

Sera gave her a half-offended look. "Oh please. I'm not the worst person out there."

Damien chuckled and started eating. "So what're you doing here?"

"Literally?" Rose said. "Eating lunch, same as you. Otherwise? I'm not entirely sure yet, I haven't really been given anything to do." Oh god, she was flirting. Sera would never let her live this down. "And I'm thinking I should shut up now."

Taylor didn't comment as he began to eat. So, Damien's little flower had a crush on the keeper already... It was plain as day, at least to Taylor himself.

Sera managed to hide her little snickers in her food, taking a bigger gulp of water to keep from laughing. Oh this was just precious.

Damien smiled a little. "Well I'm sure we can fin a cure for boredom," he said, his eyes glinting as he flirted right back. Without the embarrassed part. Hey, flirting was fun.

Rose reached over and gave Sera a bit of a shove. She heard those choked-back little snickers.

"So, ladies, what DOES bring you here today?" Taylor finally put in his two-cents. Hey, he was curious, and it was an excuse to get Sera talking.

Sera looked at Rose with a grin. "Well my dear friend now has a job here."

"You do?" Damien looked at Rose in surprise, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Yeah, well... Database management specialist tends to fall under the general heading of technical analyst and librarian," Rose said, fighting back a blush.

"So you're the one they hired?" Taylor asked. "Interesting." He looked at Sera. "And what about you?"

Damien smiled slowly. "Well, well. This will be very fun," he said slowly. "I guess I'll be seeing a lot more of you."

"Just meeting her here for lunch," Sera said with a shrug.

"On the weekdays, at least," Rose agreed. "My Saturday and Sunday mornings got absorbed by the library back home."

"Is this going to become a daily thing?" Taylor asked Sera.

"Well at least you get some time away from this place," Damien said with a smile. "How have you liked it here so far?"

"Probably not. My boss would kill me if I took off for more than half an hour for lunch every day." Sera smiled a little, a little sadly, before she shrugged. "Oh well. I'll come often enough. You'll probaby want to get rid of me soon."