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Billy wasn't going to puke. He 100%, positively, definitely, wasn't going to throw up because he was so nervous. Probably. He had faced super scary supervillains so he could totally show up at Isabelle's door and ask her out on a date. That was it. No biggie.

Except it was big because rejection would totally suck. No matter how much he told himself he would survive the rejection it would still suck. You could still be friends with someone if they turned you down for a date, right? Yeah, he was sure you could.

Plus, Alec had told Billy it was okay to ask Isabelle, which meant she wasn't currently dating someone or secretly hated Billy and would laugh in his face if he asked her out. At least he hoped Alec would have warned him about that.

Earlier he had texted Isabelle to ask if he could come over to her place and hang out for a bit and she had agreed. Now he was committed and there was no turning back from this. He had actually debated on bringing flowers but that kind of seemed like the sort of thing that he should bring on the actual date. If it happened.

Stopping outside her door he did a smell check of his breath and armpits before he did his best to calm himself. He probably still seemed nervous but not as nervous as he was earlier. He had fought the Crime Syndicate, he could totally ask out the most amazing, fun, gorgeous girl ever.

"I'm so doomed," he mumbled to himself before knocking on Isabelle's door.

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It is, Isabelle notes, the first time Billy has asked her to hang out without some kind of weird surprise. Instead of a magic cave or a shady dock on the outskirts of town, he's asked to come to her apartment. Her apartment, which is still in the process of being madly redecorated. She's not sure what to do with half of the things she'd ended up buying, so a lot of it is strewn haphazardly around, but she has managed to do up a fair bit of it. There are new curtains, new table settings and odds and ends to brighten the place up a bit, and a hefty dose of glitter and colour over everything.

It is, quite frankly, a mess. She's standing with her hands on her hips in the middle of the living room, trying to work out how to make it presentable when she hears a knock on the door.

"Oh well," she murmurs to herself. She tried, and she doesn't think Billy will care that much. Probably he'll just make fun of her.

Isabelle heads over to the door, opening it to find Billy standing on her threshold. He looks a little nervous, and she wonders if maybe this is actually another call to go and do something weird and possibly involving magic. She's still trying to wrap her head around the last magic artefacts he'd shown her, so she hopes not.

"Hi Billy," she greets him warmly, stepping aside so he can come inside. "Is everything okay?"

Every. Damn. Time. Every time he saw Isabelle the first time after not having seen her for a while he just sort of forgot how to talk when she smiled and said hello. He just sort of got a stupid smile on his face and felt all flustered for a moment before he remembered how to talk. Isabelle probably thought he was some kind of idiot.

"What? Yeah, yeah, things are fine I just- I just wanted to see you and hang out?" he said as he stepped inside of the apartment, hoping he didn't sound as unsure about that as he felt. He did just want to see her and hang out, he just wanted to ask her a question too. "And wow, your place looks... well, half of it looks nice. It's got that... 'fashion designer becoming a hoarder' look I've heard is all the rage right now."

"I meant because your face is doing that thing again," she tells him, ushering him inside. "Where you look nervous and kind of like you're not really here." It's endearing, but considering the last time she saw him she's pretty sure he ended up with a concussion, she wants to make sure he's okay.

"I admit, I don't know a lot about decorating." It seems like the kind of thing she should know about, but they'd hardly had cause for it at the Institute, and it's not like her and Maryse ever bonded over much of anything, let alone home decorating. It'd been bad enough when she was living with Alec, all of her things strewn around her room, only now she has an entire apartment to herself to hoard things in. Still, she kind of likes it. "They didn't teach us that at the Institute."

"What? That's just my face. It's the face I always have," he said, pausing a moment before he added, "Okay, maybe that's the face I get when you smile at me. But the rest of the time I just have a normal face."

It was the first time that he had ever admitted that he maybe got a little... lost whenever she smiled at him but it didn't sound like that was a big secret to her or anything. And everyone knew she had a great smile so it couldn't be too unusual that people got all flustered around it.

"Well, they don't really teach it at normal schools either. But if you're happy with it then I think that means you're a decorating success? Nothing you've done hurts to look at, so at least you're good there?"

Isabelle knows that she's attractive and she knows that Billy has noticed it, but this is the first time he's openly admitted that it might affect him at all. Alec had told her to stop teasing him, once, but she likes it too much when he blushes.

"Just checking that you're not concussed again," she says with a laugh. She still doesn't know how it's possible that he went home or exactly how long he was supposedly gone, but she knows that he believes it, so she does too.

"Thanks, I think." She's not finished yet, but it's comforting to know that what she's started isn't entirely awful. She hasn't even bothered to ask Alec his opinion, he'd only give her a confused look. Magnus would be more help, but she's been trying not to bother him.

Billy thought for a moment about telling Isabelle that he did have a concussion just to see if she would let him lay his head in her lap again. He figured that was probably a one time thing though and he probably shouldn't push his luck. Still, the concussion had been totally worth it just for that.

"It's got a more personal touch than my place, which is mostly just left how my old roommate decorated it," Billy said. Alex had good taste but that taste was mostly "try and make it look like normal people lived here" so it wasn't the most exciting. "And I can say for sure it's decorated better than an abandoned subway tunnel. Definitely more glitter here."

"I've never seen your place," she says, and finds that she's intrigued. The apartments themselves seem to look similar regardless of where they are, but the people inside them make them different. Alec's apartment had been very neat and tidy and uniform before Isabelle and Magnus had taken up residence, and Magnus's apartment in on a whole other level. "Was your roommate not normal?" She doesn't know what's supposed to qualify as normal anymore in this city anyway.

Realising suddenly that she's got him standing awkwardly in the entryway, Isabelle ushers him further into the apartment and gestures at the couch. "You can sit, or whatever. Do you want anything to drink? Eat?"

"Oh, next time you go visit Magnus you should come by. I'm just one floor up, number 19. Or, you know, you could just come by to see me. It doesn't have to be when you visit Magnus. And Alex was an ex-spy? Mostly ex, she was also a vigilante, I think," Billy said, stopping himself before he started rambling. He didn't want her to think she couldn't just show up to see him because that would be okay if she did. It would actually be really, really awesome if she did.

"And some water would be great," Billy told her, already feeling his mouth grow dry and a lump in his throat at the idea of asking her out. Speaking of which, he should just do it, just ask her and get it over with. "Oh, also, I had an, um, I had a question to ask you."

"I will definitely come and see you," she assures him, not wanting him to think she would only go and visit because of Magnus. There are a lot of vigilantes in Darrow, she thinks, and wonders if people would count her among them. She fights demons, not criminals, but she still has a tendency to loiter around on rooftops at night, so.

"Who do you live with now?" she questions, wondering if he got a replacement roommate. She doesn't know what happened to Alex but she can guess, and it makes her sad. Billy seems convinced that everyone he likes will leave him, and people he likes do keep disappearing.

Isabelle pops into the kitchen and gets him a glass of water, bringing it back into the room with a smile on her face. "Oh yeah? What was that?"

Billy could feel his stomach twisting a bit at Isabelle's promise to come see him. He didn't really think of himself as a fun sort of person, and he was okay with that, so it made him a bit giddy that she would want to come visit him just because. That was definitely a good thing, right?

"Oh, it's just me there. Before Alex left she made sure her half of the rent was paid up for a long time so as long as I'm careful with my money I don't need- " Bily paused for a moment in his answer as he looked up at her smile, completely forgetting the words he wanted to use as he was too busy just looking at her as he gave her a ridiculous smile back.

"Don't need to mate. I mean, a roommate. I don't need a roommate," he continued, blinking as he reached out and took the water. How long had he just stared at her? Now was really not the time to stop and stare at her, he needed to keep talking. Right, the question he wanted to ask her. "And I was wondering if, uh, if you wanted to go on a date sometime soon. With me. On a date. Together. Somewhere."

Isabelle pauses, her head tilted to the side while she watches him try and remember what he was saying. He's just staring at her again, and she waits patiently until he picks up his train of thought again, even when it comes out more jumbled than he started.

When he does get his wits about him, he asks her on a date, and it's about the last thing Isabelle expected him to ask. She'd been prepared to be asked something more about the crown and the trident, or what Magnus thought about them, or how she was getting on learning them. Maybe something about how he'd vanished off home again, but definitely not a date. She's not surprised in a bad way, but she also didn't think she was really his type.

No, okay, Isabelle thinks she's everyone's type, but she definitely didn't think Billy liked her that way. She's hardly been subtle in her flirting, and he's never said anything before now. "What about Steph?" she asks, because it hadn't been that long ago that she'd found him crying into Naga's fur because his girlfriend disappeared. "I'm not saying no," she clarifies quickly. "I'd love to go on a date with you. I didn't think you wanted to."

Billy was really glad for the water because in the few seconds from asking his question and when Isabelle answered his mouth felt REALLY dry and he took several huge gulps of water from the glass. His heart was also pounding so hard that he could hear it in his ears. It was weird because he wasn't worried about her saying 'no'. If she said 'no' that would suck but what he really worried about was her being upset or insulted or something. Billy didn't want to lose Isabelle as a friend.

When she asked about Steph he felt a weird sort of lurch in his chest. It was a fair question and he didn't want her to think she was just a rebound or something. Then he had a bit of whiplash when she said she would love to go on a date with him but didn't think he was interested and his head felt a bit feint. Was that a yes? He was pretty sure that was a yes.

"I- uh- it- " he said, taking another drink as he tried to sort out his thoughts. "For me Steph left months ago. About half a year. Even if I only imagined going home I really experienced months and months life and... Steph was special and I was crazy about her but she's been gone for a while for me and I've moved on. And of course I want to go out with you! You're one of the kindest, bravest, funniest, cleverest, most beautiful people I have ever met. You just- you're kind of so amazing you break my brain so I probably come off as some sort of idiot when I'm around you."

The time jump thing is still weird, but she knows it's real for Billy, so she does her best to try and understand it. One minute he'd been here, then he'd been unconscious, and when he came to he was convinced he'd spent months away from Darrow. She doesn't think he's crazy, not with everything else that happens here, but it's weird to think that they're both in different states of time, now.

"You don't come off as an idiot," she tells him, feeling like it's important to get that out of the way first. In truth he's not the kind of guy she usually goes for, but there's something refreshing about it. Simon had been the same, she realises, so maybe Billy is more her type than she thinks. "That's a lot of compliments to live up to," she laughs. She's heard a lot of them before, but he says it with an earnestness that she likes.

"Well I guess it's a good thing we're going on a date then, huh? To give you a chance to live up to them," Billy said, giving her another lopsided grin. It probably shouldn't have made him so happy to hear that she didn't think he came off as an idiot but it did. That was pretty much a compliment, which was awesome. And she said yes, which was even more awesome!

"Does a Friday or Saturday night work for you? Because I still have school and I had an idea for a date but it wouldn't be good to do on a school night. If you really meant it, that you want to go on a date with me."

Isabelle has no plans for Friday or Saturday except potentially hunting with Alec, and she's sure he can manage a night without her. He might even be glad for it.

"Either one," she says happily, and she's curious to know what kind of date he has planned. She's not sure how far he'd planned this in advance, but it's nice that he already has something in mind. Isabelle can't remember the last time anyone took her on a proper date, and she's excited.

"I do mean it, Billy," she tells him firmly, and then just to reaffirm, she presses a light kiss to the corner of his lips. Normally she wouldn't bother with the pretence, but she does like Billy and she doesn't want to mess anything up.

Billy was too stunned to actually reply to the kiss, with words or with actions, and that was probably good because he had no idea how to reply to it. It wasn't anything huge, it was just a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth. But it was a kiss from Isabelle and it was to the corner of his mouth. He totally did not see that coming at all.

"Uh, I, yes. I mean, yes, you do. Mean it. Apparently. Sorry I just, heh, I just wasn't sure if you liked me like that," he said, once he finally was able to talk again. Billy was pretty sure he could still feel the kiss on his face though. It felt really nice. "I was pretty sure you didn't hate me, but that was about all I assumed."

She enjoys the way it makes him trip over his words, though she decides that if they're going to be going on a date, he's going to need to be able to recover when she kisses him. Which she plans on doing, but maybe not until he's less likely to pass out if she does.

"Billy," she sighs, holding back a laugh, "I've been flirting with you since the day I met you." She thinks back, and pauses. "Well okay maybe since like, day two. Day one I was busy pulling a knife on you."

Billy scrunched up his face a bit in confusion, an almost-scowl as he tried to remember times she had flirted with him. She had always been nice to him, except when she had pulled that knife, but he didn't think she had been flirting. At least not real flirting because she was interested in him. Of course, he hadn't been single then so maybe he just wasn't paying attention?

"I just thought you were being nice?" he said, as if that was any kind of defense. "I just thought maybe you were friendly with everyone and it wasn't anything about me. Man, I would have been a lot less terrified to ask you out if I knew that."

"You had a girlfriend," she points out, raising an eyebrow. "Which you kept telling me." Isabelle isn't that girl. She's free with her affections and she wasn't going to stop flirting because she doesn't know how to stop, but she wasn't going to go after someone else's boyfriend.

"Also, Alec kept telling me to stop making you uncomfortable." Alec is a fun ruiner, this is something Isabelle has known for a long time. He's less ridiculous since Magnus, but he still makes disapproving eyes at her every time she flirts in front of him.

Billy did have a girlfriend at the time but Isabelle had never made it feel like she was trying to steal him away. Maybe that's why he didn't notice really, because she was just flirting to have fun and not to get anything back from it.

"Dude, shut up, Alec," Billy muttered under his breath, although definitely loud enough that Isabelle could hear. He appreciated his friend looking out for him but Billy liked how Isabelle made him feel. "I mean... I have issues getting physically close to people unless I know them really well but the way you make me feel "uncomfortable" is a good way. Like I feel so much good stuff I don't know what to do with it. It's nice."

She makes a note to tell Alec I told you so later. He'll grump at her about it and tell her not to stomp all over Billy with her heels, but she has no intention of doing that, so it's fine.

"You had no issue passing out in my lap," she points out with a grin. The way he explains how she makes him uncomfortable is nice if a little odd. Isabelle is used to people liking to look at her and she knows how to use that to her advantage, but it's odd for someone to phrase it like that. She likes it.

"I also had a mild concussion at the time but... yeah, I didn't mind that," he admitted sheepishly as his face flushed a bit. That had been nice and he couldn't help but remember the way she had run her fingers through his hair and... yeah, that had been kind of great. Billy would definitely do it again, only without the whole concussion thing.

"Not a lot of people can knock someone out and then hold them in there lap so carefully. That's an impressive combination."

Isabelle prides herself on doing all the things that not a lot of people can, so she's glad that someone noticed, at least. This is one that she hadn't had on her list, but she had liked it when it happened, too. Besides the whole worrying that she'd punched him into a coma thing, she'd liked holding him, getting to pretend like she was doing it just to make sure he was okay.

"Normally I just leave them on the ground," she says, which is true. Most of her fights are against demons, Downworlders or other Shadowhunters. The demons and the rogue Downworlders she kills, the Shadowhunters she leaves panting on the mat behind her after they train. She certainly doesn't hold them in her lap while they recover. Jace would probably punch her if she tried.

"Don't go telling people, I'll lose my reputation."

"I promise your secret is safe with me," Billy said, grinning at her. Not that he thought it was that much of a secret, it seemed pretty obvious to him that Isabelle cared about people and would feel bad about seriously hurting someone she knew.

"And , in, you know, if you need to do it again just let me know. That way no one else finds out your secret. I'd prefer to not get punched in the head first but if that's what it takes... worth it."

Isabelle shakes her head, moving into the living room and gesturing for him to follow. She's just realised she's had him standing around in her kitchen and she's probably the worst host ever, but he doesn't seem to mind. Still, Isabelle flops down onto the couch and pats the seat next to her, kicking a wayward cushion to the ground to make room.

"Can't do that one again, I've got to keep upping the bar." She doesn't know what comes after that though. "I'm not going to punch you in the head again," she assures him, shaking her head. "I think I'm done fighting mundanes for a while." Not that Billy is exactly a mundane, but he had been then, and look what had happened.

Billy sat down and tried not to look too disappointed about her saying she wasn't going to hold his head in her lap like that again, even if he had just been joking. Then he checked himself, remembering that all she had done was agree to go on a date with him. He should probably just get through that first.

"Oh good, because the head punching was definitely my least favorite thing about that night," he said, sitting down next to her on the couch. He was suddenly really aware of how close she was and he was sure he could feel a sort of warmth moving through him from the side she was on. It sounded dumb and Billy felt stupid for thinking it but it was a nice feeling. "If you go again I can be the person in your corner that squirts water into your mouth and rubs your shoulders between rounds though? And I can say 'you got 'em on the ropes, kid!' if that would help?"

"Did you fight anyone else that night?" she asks, curious as to whether he'd decided to take anybody else on. She still doesn't really know how strong Billy is like this - their fight had been kind of unfair and over pretty quickly.

It takes her a moment to realise he's referencing mundane boxing, and then she smiles. "I wouldn't say no to the shoulder rubbing part," she says thoughtfully. She doesn't understand mundane boxing like she doesn't understand most mundane things, but she can get behind that part. She thinks Jace would probably like boxing, if he were here. She'd pay money to watch him fight some of the people here. "I don't know I like you calling me kid, though."

"Yeah, I usually fight three of four people a night at those things," Billy admitted. Usually they go a lot better than his fight with Isabelle. He was pretty sure he went down so easily because of whatever sent his mind home but he wasn't going to argue that with Isabelle. She had punched his lights out fair and square.

"Heh, the kid thing would be weird," Billy admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He forgot that she didn't really "get" some mundane things. "But you can have shoulder rubs anytime you want!"

Because shoulder rubs meant he got to touch her and that was always a good thing. They were probably supposed to be something really nice for her but Billy thought he'd probably enjoy giving them as much as she did getting them.

"Any time I want?" she echoes, raising an eyebrow at him. People back home would know better than to make Izzy an offer like that, so she's glad that he apparently hasn't figured her out yet. Back home it would depend on who offered it. If it were Alec she'd make him do it whenever he wanted to train, just to annoy him. Jace she'd make do it in-battle, just to see if they could, see if he could still fight while trying to half-heartedly give her a massage. Alec would yell at them, and Izzy laughs aloud just thinking about it.

"You might come to regret that," she tells him, knocking her shoulder against his playfully. "People have told me I'm a handful."

"Ummmm, probably not when I'm a school or work unless it's like... an emergency or something," Billy said, giving it serious thought. He couldn't see why he wouldn't want to give her a shoulder or back rub but the way she looked at him and then laughed had him a little worried.

"Yeah, well, I like that about you," he said, smiling and bumping her shoulder back. "Why would I want just a little bit of a good thing?"

Isabelle frowns at him. "But that ruins all my fun." She'd already been planning faking an emergency and dragging him out of school. She still didn't really understand why he went in the first place. She could kind of work it out if she squints, but the whole concept of mundane schooling seems pointless to Isabelle. She'd rather be learning how to stab things.

"People usually do," she counters, but she doesn't pause on the fact for long. "So what do you have planned for this date, hm?"

"So the back rub itself isn't fun at all, huh?" he asked, giving her an amused look. It absolutely wasn't fair that the way she frowned at him was completely adorable and she didn't even seem like she was pouting or anything. Billy also really, really didn't want to ruin her fun. "Alright, fine. You can sometimes do it during school. Just try to keep that to once a month or something, okay?"

To be honest, Billy hadn't really thought about what to do on the date. He hadn't ever expected to make it this far, really. There were a few ideas floating in his head but that was about it.

"It's a surprise," he finally said. "Sort of. I was thinking casual dinner at my place and then a kind of... semi-formal going out?"

"Once a month," she promises, crossing her heart. "I swear."

She doesn't know whether a surprise means he hasn't worked something out or if it's an actual surprise, but she's happy either way. Isabelle likes surprises well enough and she likes Billy. She trusts that he knows what she might like, and that he won't drag her around to the library or something. She can only hope he hasn't gotten dating advice from Alec beforehand, otherwise she's doomed.

"That sounds fun," she says honestly. "Can you cook?" Isabelle definitely can't, but she's always willing to try.

"You can ask outside of school and work anytime you want though," Billy said, feeling his face turn a bit red at that. He kind of thought maybe he should explain to her that just because he got all awkward about things like that didn't mean he didn't want to do them. It was kind of the opposite of that, actually. Billy just liked being around her.

"I can sort of cook? I'm still learning, this is the first time in my life that I've been able to buy my own ingredients and stuff. Before it was whatever I could steal or any place that was all you can eat."

"Why?" she asks, not stopping to think about whether it sounds too blunt or not. She doesn't know why Billy would have to resort to stealing - he certainly doesn't strike her as the type. She thinks he'd probably blush and apologise too much to be any good at being a thief, so the information surprises her.

"You used to steal stuff?" She's not judging, she's just confused. It's a side of Billy she hasn't ever seen before and she finds it interesting.

"When I lived on the street if I didn't have enough money to buy food or I couldn't find any then I had to steal so I didn't starve," Billy said with a shrug. It wasn't something he was proud of but he wasn't ashamed of it either. Steal or starve was actually a pretty easy choice even if at the time he'd had a pretty bad attitude about it. If he had to do it all over again he'd still steal, maybe just not be such a jerk about it.

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