She'll meet him at a comfy BnB. There's a cat. 

She's wearing practical clothes with artistic touches. (She hired a stylist to design dungeon outfits that are designed to be eye-catching while still being both practical and something a reasonable person would wear on purpose)

"Hello! Good to see you again after the museum. Um... Right. Sorry about the NDA over my backlash. Or, not sorry, exactly, but-" He waves vaguely. Nervously. "Yeah."

(Teddy does seem to notice the clothes as special! But doesn't actually remark on them.)

"Not a problem at all. It's pretty common for people to prefer not to disclose."

Deep breath.

"My backlash is basically - social anxiety. I get extremely worried about - how I am imposing on people or bothering them, basically. Am I acting creepy? Am I standing in a weird way? Does that person think I'm checking them out? No way I could say 'hi' in passing, that might annoy them. Does that other driver think I'm following too close, I'd better slow down. Or better yet just park and wait until there's no traffic at midnight. That poor grocery store cashier doesn't deserve to have to deal with me buying things. The 911 dispatchers obviously have better things to do than worry about my broken bones. At high ends."

"Yeah I see how we're so compatible. Mine is...basically all about taking up other people's attention. I can be really inconsiderate. I have checklists for when I'm doing victim rescues so I don't forget to offer them a water bottle. Or tings like that."

"Good idea. I have- um. I tried some things with Wendy who I'm barely at all compatible with and it goes a lot better if I consider my comfort as - A job? I can tell my backlash, I'm not being a Karen by getting up to drink water, I am doing the job of being ready. Equipment maintenance. Or, uh, guiding someone isn't bothering them, especially if they keep reminding me they want guiding."

"I always want people to interact with me when I'm backlashed. Though if you'd rather not talk the whole time, once it gets down some I can like, text people and you can do something else too. I will just...sometimes interrupt to make sure you're not ignoring me."

"I'm a little nervous about how it will go but the only thing for that is to do it. Wait until we have to deal with a dungeon and then see. And make improvements from there. Right? ...I've taken some training classes on dungeon basics."

"Yeah. We'll get our agents to find us a dungeon that's both in need of a sensor and not too dangerous. I won't push myself too hard on backlash so hopefully I'll have enough brain left to troubleshoot if there are problems afterwards."

"That sounds good! Um, sorry to be nervous. I really hope everything is going to be fine... I kind of feel like, as an esper, I have to help. You know?"

"Being nervous is really normal. Honestly it'd be weirder if you weren't. I was plenty nervous before my first time."

"All shall be well. Um... The main reason I wanted to meet in person was to, er, reveal my backlash, and that's done. If you have other things to be doing that would be totally valid? Not that I'm shooing you away either..."

"Nothing in particular but if we're done here I'll just email my agent and we'll wait and see. It might take a few days to find something, not every little dungeon actually needs several espers on hand."

"Sounds like a plan."

Yay! Things are arranged and it was barely horrible at all! He's going to get esper money and feel really great from guiding and everything is going to be fine.

a couple of days later he gets a text

do you have plans today? They found a maze dungeon that could really use a sensor. They want me because the monsters are fast and hard to avoid completely.

(link to dungeon listing)

once they have all the victims out they're probably just going to start burning the whole thing down. 

ok

I was getting pretty antsy waiting for the metaphorical shoe to drop

There is only so much "settling in" to do

A bit later

Talked to my agent and I'm on the way.

And something like thirty minutes later: He shows up at the dungeon site in an SUV with tinted windows. He is wearing shorts and a t-shirt and long pants and a hoodie on top of that. Layers. For easy removal. He has a fancy new laptop and a fancy new smartphone and two copies of dungeon-optimized mapping software he's not really used to yet; It loads up with a half-populated dungeon map as he approaches.

Someone in a uniform points him towards the portal. He's not really taking in too many... Details of the scene. He's looking around for Meghan. She's probably going to be noticeable if she's out here, right?

(He carefully doesn't reach out with his power; He can sort of recognize people by feel, but for one he ought to be carefully rationing it and for two it feels a little intrusive even if he's not pulling on any of their senses and they're not saying anything back.)

She's standing in a designated waiting area by the portal and waves as he approaches She's wearing one of her carefully engineered outfits (it does have shorts and a tank top underneath. She also has a box (with a gun in it)

"All set?"

"I should be..."

One of the DRT people nods at Meghan, then tells him that everything will be fine, just take your time and keep your cool. Don't rush. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. It's a Newbie Speech, Meghan can tell- She's probably heard something like it before.

Theo reaches out to hold Meghan's hand, and then they can all go in. There's a little clearing of stomped-flat corn near the entrance, with about a half dozen DRT people with guns...

"So, the plan is... I just find the victims and point Meghan through the maze to retrieve them. She goes with them back here, using her power to hide from the monsters if necessary, and I make sure we got everyone. Right? Anything else to say before I, um, do an initial sweep?"

Thumbs up.

....."Okay, just a minute."

He shuts his eyes and - reach out and feel the DRT people, and Meghan (:Hi (relief you are here):) and - out and out in a narrow line at roughly ground level, sweeeeeeep all around like a RADAR screen.

He lets out a deep breath. And starts marking points on the map software. "Um, I count five victims. Please don't rely on these to be exact. I'll be able to refine them better with practice and stuff to reference them to... But I think... This one is closest to explored sections? Do the monsters react if you push through the corn? That might change whether it makes sense to explore the maze or just push straight through."

She squeezes his hand in response to the message.

"Yeah, if the monsters are going to be paying more attention if the maze is disturbed it might be best to go around, if the victims aren't at immediate risk."

"Right, so... I think..."

They covered the rules, so to speak, when he was training. Or... Tried to. He's basically going to round it off to 'don't'. Until he has much better understanding.

"Um. Just a minute here. I'm going to tell the victims to stay out of the way and help is on the way. And see if I can get them to tell me anything about the layout deeper in to connect this map. I think you can start going... This way? That whole - section - seems likely to connect towards these two victims." Poke poke the map.

They must be spooked.

She brings up her map app on her phone and annotates it. "You test your radio? No need to spend the backlash on keeping in touch."

Augh. He checks his radio. "Seems good. Right... Minimize power use."

"Some dungeons scramble radio and you'll be great for those, but when the radio is available..."

She starts checking and loading her gun. "I don't expect to use this thing this time but better to have it available."

The DRT people wish Meghan luck.

Theo contacts each victim with a little script; Stay out of the way of monsters, we know where you are, help is on the way. If you think 'at' me I should be able to tell, as if you were talking, but I can't read minds. Are you hurt or in distress of any kind? What's your name, is there anyone we should be contacting about you?

One of the victims says that they're really thirsty- The DRT people have him repeat advice to just stay still, and ask Meghan to prioritize him.

And then he tells them he won't reach out again unless something is wrong, to preserve backlash, and settles in for the wait as Meghan traverses more and more of the corn maze.

She will go for the guy that needs a waterbottle. She'll dodge the mice as best she can but they're fast enough that sometimes she has to rely on her power. She's still well within her tolerance though.

It only takes a couple of dead-ends to find the guy. He's alright to walk out after drinking a whole lot of water - a little slow, but that's all. And they know the exact route out this time, guided by trail marks and map software, so it's faster.

"The monsters can't notice me and if you stay close I can make sure they can't notice you either, so it's safe."

She'll make conversation with the guy if he's willing. (Otherwise she has her radio). 

He's willing to chat about his car troubles and whatever else comes up. It beats worrying about giant mice. (No giant mice trouble them on a direct path back.)

(Outside, Theo is getting a little... Antsy. Hurry up and wait. Hurry up and wait.)

Next victim is... That way. It's another extended session of wandering and backtracking in the maize maze. But she's fine. Grumpy about missing a concert.

After that one is out safe, Theo asks Meghan, "This is slower than I expected it to be. Are a lot of dungeons like this? How are you doing on backlash?"

"The average dungeon is pretty boring actually. For us anyway. I'm doing all right. The monsters are too fast to avoid entirely but they also don't hang around long so I just pick up a little bit."

"Alright. Well, three more."

The next dungeon victim isn't there when Meghan gets there. After a few moments of sickening panic and dread - he reaches out and scans again - oh, he's moving. Even though he was asked to stay still. When questioned he says a mouse rushed him out of the way, and sounds pretty stressed out. (He was probably wandering, but you can't victim blame, that's awkward as hell.)

Theo talks to him and gets a description of what turns he's made and guides Meghan to him. And then Meghan can walk him out. (The victim is kind of ignoring her, though, anxiety turning to silence.)

Being ignored SUCKS. But this is not the first time it's come up. She can be professional about it. 

She's pretty testy by the time she gets back though.

"...Do you want to take a short break for a bit of guiding? Like, five minutes? Just to cool down and reset a bit."

"We have a tent with privacy screens set up outside if you want," the nearest DRT guy says, which absolutely MORTIFIES Theo, even if logically that's probably standard practice for dungeons which have espers at them.

Deep breaths

"Probably a good idea." She'll lead him out "You can just jump out of the portal and you'll sort of float down." She demonstrates a slow-motion midair flip.

He's not actually nervous about this part! It's neat, and not a social situation! He claps slightly, then follows Meghan down.

...They can go into the tent. And. He will. Remove? His hoodie? Because Guiding Is A Job???

She will remove her shirt, revealing the tank top underneath and lead him to sit on the edge of the cot and sort of lean on his shoulder. She relaxes almost immediately

"Yeah, just need a few minute of this to settle down a bit. That last guy did not want to interact like at all. Which I know is like, not personal, it's pretty normal in stressful situations, but it always feels personal anyway, when I'm backlashed. Sorry if I took it out on you."

Leaning is necessary but not sufficient! It is Guiding Time and there should be more skin contact! He - hmm. If he puts his left arm across her back and lets it hang down over her left arm a bit, his right arm can rest against her right arm. That this means he is sort of turned towards her from very close is pleasant but irrelevant.

Guiding feels nice.

"I knew exactly what was going on and felt bad about not being able to fix it immediately, and also really did not want to bother the guy, dungeons suck. Backlash sure is a way, huh?"

This is excellent.

Guess what would be more excellent do NOT push your luck.

"Mmm nice. Yeah, it's such a way. It helps to have precommitments to yourself. Makes it easier to do the thing when you don't want to. Thus, checklists."

"The precommitment thing seems like a really good idea..."

And he has one to NOT do things that are more than general cuddling. Even though those things could totally happen.

"...I've told my agent to make it so I can't cancel things unless I'm not suffering acute backlash... Um, I'm wearing shorts under these pants if you want slightly faster guiding? We're not getting down to zero in five minutes either way though..."

"Well if you're offering. I've got shorts too."

"If you're fine with it I'm fine with it. It is, um, yeah. Guiding is nice. A reward for coping with the backlash, I guess..."

They don't have to entirely un-lean to accomplish this either. And then maybe their legs can entwine?

That can definitely happen.

'it's some kind of compensation yeah. Not really worth it on it's own, but we also get to be kind of heroes."

even if some people don't bother to be grateful about it -that can stay an inside thought.

Guiding is nice!!

"You can totally go too far in that direction too, though. Too self-important. Everyone's got their own live to live, and heroes probably feel normal enough, inside... I'm not sure that makes sense, I'm at least slightly just making conversation so you don't feel ignored."

"yeah, that might have been slightly the backlash talking. Not completely, I wouldn't have started doing this in the first place if I didn't want to help people, but it's easy to -obsess over - that specific thing.  And thanks, that's a big help. I could cope pretty well at this level, while being guided if you needed a break from talking but it's nicer not to have to."

"It also helps me! Right now my job is talking to you. Having that be very clear and specific and actionable is a relief. I might be less talky later but for now... Yeah. Um. More topics..."

""It's good that we can make it work out like that, at least at this level. But we should probably head back in soon anyway."  Sigh.

"We can do a lot more guiding once everyone's safe. I'm, um, looking forward to it."

It that a blush? ~It's a mystery, because he is not acknowledging it~

"Me too. Also, couches are much more comfortable to snuggle on than these cots. Which are optimized for portability."

(If she notices the blush she's not acknowledging it either). 

Clothes go back on, then. The DRT people very professionally say nothing and don't even give Significant Glances.

Theo does a carefully efficient wide scan again and confirms that it's just the two victims left.

"The nearest one? Or does the other have an urgent issue?"

"The nearest one, neither seem distressed."

"Got it."

And off she  goes.

The next two victims are cooperative. One of them is a teenager who would love to talk about her outfit. The other is a middle aged guy who, when prompted for conversation, rambles on about his farm and how he's only in Toronto to visit family grumble grumble. There are a couple of monster-passes.

Teddy does another wide sweep with his power.

"-One new victim."

"That's actually a good thing," the calm DRT leader insists. "We can be more sure it won't get anyone else soon, after we rescue them, so we're clear to level the whole field. It's dry and windy in here, so it'll go up like a firework. We're bringing in accelerants and gasoline."

"-Oh, geez. Do dungeons have enough air to burn a whole cornfield?"

"Typically, yes. They refresh it somehow. Anyway, let's get this finished up."

"Right............................. The victim is Mrs. Hannah Sinclair. She's not injured or in urgent need. Oh, she's actually in one of the already mapped areas. That should be very quick." He pokes the map. "You see it, Meghan?"

"I see it."  Also that's amusing. And a free conversation topic.

Mrs. Sinclair agrees that it's a small world, huh!

...Theo wants to hold her hand for the final sweep.

The DRT team sets about setting the fire after everyone is out. They say that the two espers can go now; Theo might get called back in if they want a final double-check, if they can't find the core within a few hours, or something seems suspicious. But probably not. Unless they'd rather wait who knows how long for the fire to burn and the remains to be searched for a core, they can go.

He can of course hold her hand.

She doesn't really want to wait around, no. It's not that long a drive. She wishes them luck with the core.

They can keep holding hands as they head out.

On the way to the car and hired driver that's been waiting to bring them to the temp-silo (another borrowed BnB), handholding definitely continues. But also conversation. Because it is RUDE to NOT pay attention to Meghan. So he SHOULD ask instead of keeping the stupid questions inside. "There's... Paperwork they want us to fill out, right? After action reports and stuff? Um. I'll just ask my agent about that, actually."

"There's paperwork. Most people prefer to wait until they're zeroed before worrying about it. I can't concentrate on it properly with much backlash.It does not acknowledge me or care about me. I can read things if it's the sort of thing I can turn into a dramatic reading for an audience but paperwork is not that."

"...Was almost tempted to start waxing poetic about form one zero eight B, but it would be too cringe. Backlash denied." Handsqueeze. And then into the car and try to IGNORE the wince at the driver WAITING for them, he is being PAID.

...Seatbelts don't have to interfere too much with leaning or arm-touching, do they?

Definitely not.

She wants to make small talk with the driver but she's going to try not to badger the guy. He's driving and she's getting GUIDING.

The driver was chosen by Meghan's agent and has been selected for amenability to smalltalk!

It's only a few minutes to the temp-silo. It unlocks for them easy enough. "Maybe I will relax and we can guide in your place or mine later, but for now... A place like this is just way easier. Um, we're going to get takeout delivered, I asked my agent to arrange it when I was done, before I even went to the dungeon. My phone says it will be here in... Thirty six minutes. Um. I intended it to just be for me but now I'm really worried that was terribly rude..."

"I have snacks in my bag and I can cook for myself later. I wasn't expecting to have dinner here but maybe we should talk about it in advance, next time?"

"Yeah. I mostly did it because if I was highly backlashed I absolutely would not be able to order anything that wasn't already here? Or maybe even speak up that I'd like to stop guiding you for little while to eat or drink. And it can go in the fridge if necessary. I think I'm pretty low on backlash overall. Like... Two out of ten at most, if ten is Hell Week."

Here they are inside a temp silo. It's a pretty generic 2 bedroom house. Whatever shall they do now?

"It's good to start out slow, to figure out how much you can manage with while working, and how much you're willing to tolerate. I'm not very bad on backlash either, the DRT guys could probably have cleared this one themselves it just would have been a lot slower and riskier. So this is well within my tolerance levels."

Deep breath. "Okay then. I did ask for a... Dipping my toes in type dungeon. Um. Want to go cu- Rest on the couch?"

"I'd love to go rest on the couch."

To the couch they go

"They never put newbies on the really dangerous and complicated ones. Some dungeons move the victims around, or move the walls, and stuff like that, so it takes a lot more sensor work."

Removing hoodie and long pants is a familiar procedure by now, and is a bit less Scary, so he does so before they settle on the couch.

"I think I can do things like this more often? It might get really bad if, um, it ends up being a lot of backlash. And like. If we don't get everyone. That would be bad..."

Then they can both be on the couch, in shorts and short sleeves.Leeeeean

"Knowing when to take breaks is also part of the job. Most of the time there's not that much of a time crunch? Dungeons stick around for weeks and almost never kill the victims quickly so, you can afford a break.  And if they need constant sensing for some reason they should be hiring more than one person."

Guiding is nice! They can do the leg entwine and shoulder-arm thing again. He almost sort of wants more guiding than this.

She's very close and very understanding and kind and patient and guiding is nice

"We do what we can, because we must... Well, I am kind of like this even without backlash. Anxious, I mean. But things really do seem... Good? Another day like today would be fine and good. Or us not working on the same dungeons but meeting up for guiding later, too."

"Yeah it did seem to work out well. I'm glad you think so too. Yeah, once you've done a couple of dungeons we can do them separately. I don't know how much work you're imaging. You could pretty much get as much as you can stand, as a sensor. But you don't want to burn yourself out. I could do more dungeons with someone as compatible as you, but I still want to spend some time with all my screws in place."

She is very close to him. And smiling at him (she thinks he's very cute and sweet).

"......Um.  would - If I hadn't - I mean - maybe. Uh. Words are not happening correctly right now, apparently... I'm really glad I met you, Meghan. I had fun at the museum, and you're being so patient about introducing me to esper work, and stuff."

"I had fun at the museum too!. And it's been my pleasure. I think you're cute, and sweet."

pause

"Do you maybe want to make out a little? You can say no if I'm being too pushy."

"-Um. I do want to. But. I made a decision to... Not... Anything like that, the first time we did a dungeon. It was just going to be cuddling. And, um, um, sorry, but I would really like to stick to that? This time. At least."

"No, that's fine. Probably a good idea on my end really, my filter is just a bit shot. The cuddling is very nice. Hey do you want to see a video of me playing the piano?"

"Y-yeah. Maybe next time?" His voice is a bit squeaky, but then he seems to recover. "-Oh, sure. I'm not very good at music, but it's not my interest, which makes it obvious why. I'm more into computers and video games."

She can pull up a video. She can pull up several videos. And name the pieces in question. She's not professional quality but she's a pretty experienced amateur. "Let me know if you get bored okay. I can get carried away even when I'm not backlashed."

Piano is pretty fine as music goes, and when he starts asking questions about the various pieces, music theory and related ramblings is surprisingly interesting. This is a perfectly fine way to pass time until his phone buzzes. "-Oh, the takeout is here. I ordered chinese food. Um, how are you feeling on backlash? I don't think I'm entirely out, but it's hard to tell."

"Nah I've still got a bit. I don't think you're entirely out either, you can kind of learn to tell that as well, though it'll be easier when we've been working together longer. If you want you could tell me about video games while you eat."

"Sure. I can eat with one hand, or we can touch our legs? And when we are both un-backlashed we can talk about next time?"

"Well you know what you ordered so you know how easy it will be eat it with one hand. And that's a good idea yeah."

They can do that. It's not that edible with one hand, but the soup and spring rolls are. He talks about video games. Apparently his favorites are city-builders and factory-builders. On PC, of course, never console or mobile.

She pulls out a snack bar to eat. It's an excellent form factor to eat one handed.

She's played a few of those! She also used to play rhythm games a lot 'but most of them are kinda boring when you have esper athleticism.'

There's a couple of narrative style games that appeal to him, but they have to have these fairly specific qualities. He recommends Scarlet Reach for its interesting mythos and great aesthetic! You play as an airship captain wandering a harsh world, exploring and trading and carefully managing fuel and stuff...

Oop, that's the last of the backlash.

"...I'm very happy with how today went. We helped some people and sensing and guiding both seem much less scary now. Um. On sober reflection I think I would be happy to kiss you next time and... Maybe other stuff. Or kiss you now? If. That's not weird. You're good-hearted and easy to talk to. But if it's weird, or um, easier with backlash making it comfier, that is also fine. We could definitely kiss and godowntoshortsnexttime, at least? Um, presuming you're okay with that."

"We should wait until next time for kissing, but I'll definitely be okay with it next time."