<blockquote class="uncited"><div>A laugh escaped Alison's lips in between her fries. The half-eaten burger was off to her side, and her shake had since been finished off and was lying in a trashcan somewhere. The two were sitting at a table, enjoying their conversation as Alison slowly ate through her meal, a simple cheeseburger with mayo and ketchup, and a small french fry. "So what happened after you got it back in the cage?" she asked, finishing off the fries.<br/><br/>Danny chuckled. "Well, like I said, it was a pissed off polar bear," he said, taking a sip of carbonated refreshment before continuing, "So I played dead. I curled up in a ball and stayed still." He paused once more, "Then it layed down on top of me and fell asleep. I shit you not." He wore a crooked grin. "So what about you? Had any intesting experiences with giant killer bears?"<br/><br/>Alison listened intently, bursting into laughter at the conclusion of his story. "No, I can't say I have," she responded, after regaining her composure. "But hearing about one is no less interesting, and, quite frankly, hilarious." She put her elbow on the table, resting her chin in her open palm and looking at him for a minute. "I gotta say, I didn't think you'd be much of a catch when I first met you over by that cage. I mean, sure, you're cute, but you seemed like a pretty typical dude. Any guy who wrestles polar bears and doesn't afraid of anything is a-okay with me, though."<br/><br/>Danny shrugged. "Sometimes I think it's my last name. <span style="font-style: italic">Cage</span>." He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "You're pretty cute yourself," he said with a smirk. "But yeah, once you get mauled by enough things, it isn't as gut-wrenchingly terrifying as it used to be. Still kinda scary though."<br/><br/>"Reaaally? You think I'm cute, hmm? As in, cute-cute," she started, batting her eyelashes and holding a finger to her mouth, attempting to look adorable; "Or cute-sexy?" she continued after a few moments, looking at him seductively and shifting her pose so that her arms were squishing her breasts together.<br/><br/>Danny looked down, shaking his head and laughing lightly, a slight pink tinge to his cheeks. "Sometimes one, sometimes the other. I honestly don't know with you," he mumbled.<br/><br/>She chuckled at his reaction, letting her arms fall onto the table. "You really do get flustered too easily, you know that? But that's alright. It's kind of cute," she said with a smile, leaning forward and grabbing the rest of her meal. "The muscles are impressive, too," she added, a devilish smirk playing across her face, before taking a rather large bite out of the burger.<br/><br/>"Someone's awful flirty," he teased, looking back up to her. He patted one bicep. "Yeah, once you start getting attacked by animals a lot, you get the urge to work out," he joked, ignoring the part about being easily flustered. He took another drink of Coke and glanced out into the mall.<br/><br/>"Just testing the waters," she responded, taking another bite. "And seeing how long you can keep yourself from blushing. It's a fun game, you should try it yourself sometime," she said with a giggle, finishing off the burger and tossing its wrapper into the nearest trash bin. She leaned back in her chair, raising her arms up and stretching them out, along with the rest of her upper body; the long day of shopping was finally catching up to her, and she felt the need to relax. Before she could consider it much further, a tall man in a purple jacket and black pants ran by, grabbing one of the bags of merchandise that was sitting next to her. A moment passed where she was trying to process what had just happened, before she shot out of her chair, turning to face the thief. "Hey, what the hell! Get back here!" she shouted, scooping up her other items and attempting to run after him. It was obvious before long she wasn't going to catch up, though, with her extra baggage and shorter legs.<br/><br/>He rolled his eyes. "Yeah whatever. Very funny," he shot back. He wanted to say something else, but someone ran by, taking one of Alison's bags with him. He didn't really understand what happened for a second, then stood up, following after Alison. Her short legs and extra weight slowed her down, so Danny put on an extra burst of speed, catching up with the thief. He tackled the man, sending them both sprawling on floor, Alison's shopping bag spilling it's contents everywhere. Danny quickly scrambled up, getting on top of the man and punching him several times. He then stood up, flicking his wrist. "I think I knocked him out," he stated simply. "You alright?"<br/><br/>Alison was taken by surprise as Danny ran past her, much faster than the thief was moving. She slowed down to a stop for a moment, watching the event with a blank expression and blinking a few times. Once it was all over, she jogged over to the two; "Uh, wow.. I didn't expect you to be so fast," she started, staring at him. "I'm fine, yeah.. He didn't hurt me or anything.. just my pride," she said with a chuckle. A slight blush found its way to her cheeks as she stammered, looking down at the ground; "You didn't have to do that, you know.. But.. Thanks." She set her bags down near them and started picking up the objects that fell out of the stolen bag. It was mostly comprised of video games and accessories, though there were a few small miscellaneous things thrown in.<br/><br/>Danny grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Well, I wasn't going to let someone just take your stuff," he said. He moved over to help her finish picking up stuff. He was about to drop a game back in the bag, when he froze, seeing the title. He flipped the case over, reading the summary and looking at the gameplay pictures. "I've heard good things about this game. I thought about picking it up, but I've been busy with work and all so I haven't been able to game as much as I used to."<br/><br/>She froze in place, turning her head very slowly towards Danny. "..You're a gamer?" she asked, staring straight at him with widened eyes.<br/><br/>He shrugged. "Not really. I used to game a lot when I was younger, but I kind of fell out of the loop."<br/><br/>Her eyebrows furrowed, and she looked at him for a few more moments. "I have a problem with this, sir," she said, throwing the rest of the objects in their bag quickly. She picked everything up and stepped over to Danny, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him off in the direction of the nearest elevator. "Come on now, don't be shy. We have a childhood to relive!"<br/><br/>Danny laughed. "If you insist." He took a few bags from Alison, not wanting to be one of those guys that let the girl carry all of her stuff. He was a gentleman, at least partially. "I have to work tomorrow...If there is technically a tomorrow out here. Anyways, my point being I can't stay for long."<br/><br/>The elevator doors shut, and there was nobody else going, so she clicked the button for the passenger cabin floor, afterward turning to him and putting on her best pouting face. "Aw, you really can't stay long? ..What if I promised to make it worth your while..?" she said, setting the bag down and leaning against him, her chest squishing against his arm as her expression turned into a devilish smile.<br/><br/>Danny chuckled, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "I'm sure it'll be fun, but I really can't afford falling asleep on the job," he insisted, face a light pink despite doing his best to ignore the breasts pressed into his side. "Now quit using your inescapable boob powers, you wily minx."<br/><br/>"Aw, you're catching onto my game," she said with a giggle, stepping away from him and picking up her things again. "Oh well, I got you to blush, so I win anyway. Now to kick your butt at a real game," she said with a smirk, as the elevator doors opened. She stepped outside, leading the way down the hall towards her room. Once they got there, she plopped her bags on the ground and looked over at Danny; "Try to not get a nosebleed," she joked, winking. She reached down into her shirt, and pulled out the keycard that opened her room, swiping it through the reader. The door opened swiftly, and she placed the card back into its carrying location, picking her bags up again and walking inside. "Welcome to my boring and temporary abode," she said, setting the bags down in a corner and flopping onto her bed.<br/><br/>He flashed an overexaggerated smile at Alison. "I've been easy to fluster since high school, I'm used to it by now." He chuckled. As they walked in the room, he rolled his eyes once more. "It'd take more than that to give me a nosebleed. I only blush easy," he said with a wink. He stood next to the bed, leaning against the wall. "So what 'real game' do you want to kick my ass in first?"<br/><br/>She sat up and got off her bed, stepping over to a black cabinet that the TV was sitting on top of. She looked over at Danny, a glint shining in her eye; "Your pick," she said, pulling the sliding door to the side, revealing row after row of video games, probably over 60 in total.<br/><br/>Danny's eyes widened. "Damn, you're one hell of a gamer chick," he said. "Very impressive." He scanned through the games, picking up a couple that caught his eye, but eventually settling on one. It was an older game, one he used to be really good at. "Project: Dudley. Let's go," he said, sliding the disc in and picking up a controller with a mischievious grin.<br/><br/>An equally mischievious smile played across Alison's lips as she picked up her controller and got comfy on her bed. "Your funeral, buddy," she taunted. "I used to date the guy who made this one. You're in for a hell of a ride."</div></blockquote>