The next day, The Gotham Avengers had completed another mission successfully. At the tower, Piotr saw Barbara was alone, and decided to talk to her. "Hey Barbara, can I speak to you?" Barbara turned around and smiled. "Yeah, sure." She took off her cowl and held it. "I wish to speak, not as teammate, but as friend," said Piotr. He was not in his metallic skin. "Alright.... what's up? What do you want to talk about?" She asked, sweeping her hair out of her face. "You are friend of Dinah, da?" Piotr asked. "Yeah, we're really close friends. She helped me through a tough time." She smiled a bit at him. "Why?"

"Well, do you know if she is married, in relationship, or single?" asked a nervous Piotr, blushing a little. She smirked. "Ohhh. So that's what this is about." Babs chuckled. "She's single... but that woman doesn't stay single for long. She's in a weird on and off relationship with a guy called Oliver." She explained. "I'd hurry up and tell her if I were you."

"I see," said Piotr, "is there a certain flower she likes?" He hoped as his leader, she wouldn't say anything to Dinah. "Her mom used to own a flower shop so she probably likes most of them.... but I think that she's mentioned that she likes Bluebells and Chrysanthemums..." she told him. "Interesting," said Piotr, "thank you for this information Barbara. You won't tell anyone, right?"

"No, this is between you and me, Piotr." She told him with another smile. "Now go get that bombshell of a woman."

"Blagodaryu vas, Barbara," said Piotr as he smiled and left the Avengers Tower to look for Dinah. Barbara gave him a playful salute and walked off to change. Meanwhile, Dinah was shrugging off her jacket and placing it in her locker. Piotr walked to where Dinah was at, and gently tapped on the door. Dinah whipped her head over to the door and walked over, a hand on her hip. "Piotr?" She looked a little surprised when she saw him. "Hello Dinah," said Piotr, "how are you? I hope I'm not disturbing you." He smiled at her. "No, not at all." She returned his smile and stepped aside. "Come in." Piotr went in and said, "Thank you. How are you doing today, Dinah?"

"I'm doing fine, thank you. A little tired from the mission but I'm okay." She told him. "And you? How are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright myself," said Piotr, "Barbara is good leader. Peter and Mr. Wayne made right choice choosing her. Dinah, there is something I want to ask you..."

"Barbara is a fantastic leader, that's true." She nodded then looked at him. "Ask away, Hun." She told him. "Are you doing anything this weekend?" asked Piotr, "Because I would like to hang out with you... That is, if you don't mind..." He blushed a little. He hadn't been this nervous since he asked Kitty out. Dinah studied him for a bit. "I don't mind at all, Piotr. It's a date." She gave him a smile. Dinah may have been on a break with Oliver and it should have been hurting her but she and Oliver had broken up so many times that it just stopped hurting after a while. And just because she had broken up with him about a month ago didn't mean she couldn't have some fun. "Where would you like to hang out?" asked Piotr, "I hear there's bar in Gotham that sells good Russian vodka."

"Oh that... that sounds like fun." She smirked. "How about this Saturday? I'm free then." The blonde offered. "Very well. It's a date then," said Piotr as he smiled. His mind was going "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Clearly excited on the inside, but calm on the outside. "It's a date." She agreed. "Now shoo. I've gotta change." Dinah smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Of course," said Piotr as he covered his eyes and left the room, respecting her privacy. She closed the door to her room and changed. Dinah then made her way out of it just to relax. It was now Saturday, and Piotr got a bouquet of Bluebells, and he was outside of Dinah's house, wearing a good suit that was presentable. Dinah wore a nice bronze colored dress that wasn't too flashy or super fancy but just enough for a date. She walked up the door, black heels clicking on the floor. "Piotr! Hi, you look handsome." She complimented. Piotr's jaw dropped in awe. "Hello Dinah," he said, "you look beautiful..." She blushed a bit. "Thanks, Hun." Dinah smiled at him. "I'm ready to go, are you?" She asked, not noticing the bouquet yet. "Yes," said Piotr, "but before we go, I brought these for you." He then offered the Bluebells to her. Dinah's eyes lit up as she took the bouquet in her hands. She smiled at him. "Oh they're beautiful. Let me put them in water." She told him before leaving to place the flowers in a vase with water. Piotr smiled at her. He was glad that he could make her happy. She quickly came back and closed the door behind her. "Thanks for the flowers." Dinah told him. "You're welcome," said Piotr, then he offered his arm, "shall we?" She took his arm in hers and nodded. "It sure is lovely night in Gotham," said Piotr as they walked, "almost rare."

"Oh definitely. I've been here long enough to know this won't last long." She joked. Piotr chuckled. He liked her sense of humor. Dinah smiled at him and kept walking. "So, what's that bar you were talking about?"

"Well, it's called Gotham Pub," said Piotr, "they serve Russian vodka, and other drinks including that drink known as Jack."

"And uh... how strong is this vodka?" She asked curiously. "Russian vodka is so strong, you'll be lucky if you can finish the bottle," said Piotr, "but I've built immunity towards vodka."

"Alright then. Let's see how that goes." She chuckled. "I'd recommend you eat something salty to help with the alcohol," said Piotr. They weren't far from the pub. "I know that trick, used it a lot in college." She smirked. "Very good trick," said Piotr as he also smirked. "So, Piotr. Tell me about yourself. Let's get to know each other first." She said. "Good idea," said Piotr, then they were outside the pub. He opened the door, holding it for her, "after you." She smiled. "Thank you." She muttered and walked in then waited for him to walk in after her. Piotr then walked in himself, nodding. They looked for a table. "As you know," explained Piotr, "I am from Russia. I grew up on a farm in Russia with my sister."

"Alright... go on." She nodded, finding an empty table and grabbing a chair. Piotr also found a chair, and sat where he could face Dinah. "At the time, I did not know we were living in the Cold War era," said Piotr, "by the time I was a boy, the USSR was dead. After that, my sister Illyana was born." She nodded and rested her face in her hands, clearly interested. "That's a beautiful name, Illyana." She told him with a smile.

"Yes, she looked up to me," said Piotr as he smiled at the memories he shared with his sister, "I was in my adolescence when I gained my mutation. It started when I saved my sister from a runaway tractor. That's when I mutated. When I got older, Professor Xavier reached out to me to join his team, and the rest is history." She nodded. "It seems you had a fantastic childhood." Dinah was a little jealous that his life seemed so great but didn't let that overcome her in the slightest. "It wasn't much, but yes, my childhood memories were worthwhile," said Piotr, "could you tell me about yourself?"

"Well, I never met my father and momma never spoke much of him. So it was just me and her right here in Gotham at first." She told him. "And she ran a flower shop, yes?" asked Piotr. The waiter then asked what Piotr and Dinah wanted to eat and drink. "Mmhm." She turned to the waiter. "I'll have Vodka on the rocks." Dinah ordered, letting him get the food since he sounded he had been here before. "I'll take your signature hot wings, and your Russian vodka please," said Piotr, handing the waiter the menus. The waiter nodded, leaving. "Trust me, the Pub's hot wings are to die for. Not literally though." She laughed. "I'd love to try them." Dinah told him. "As I was saying, I grew up with my mom here in Gotham until she died in battle and I had to go to Star City and live with Wildcat." She explained. "Became Canary at 19 and been like that ever since."

"So you are metahuman, kind of like mutant," said Piotr, "metahumans and mutants are so alike, I can honestly never tell difference."

"I think it's just the same thing with a different name." She told him with a nod. "Yeah, guess so," said Piotr, "when did you discover your powers?"

"I've had them all my life but I started to test them out at 16." She told him. "Interesting," said Piotr, "your powers remind me of my friend Banshee. His powers are just like yours."

"Sonic scream? Huh. Interesting, not a lot of people have my set of powers." She smiled. "Only a few," said Piotr, as he nodded. The waiter gave them the drinks. "Thank you."

"Thanks." She nodded and raised her glass at him before taking a swig. Dinah seemed rather unaffected by the vodka she was drinking. Piotr then took a drink of his vodka. It brought back good memories for him. "Mm. Not bad. Could be stronger..." she shrugged. "You got the one you were talking about right?" Dinah asked him. "Yes, that's the one," said Piotr, "it is good."

"I think I'll order that later." She told him and took another swig of her alcohol. "Sounds good," said Piotr, as he sipped his vodka, "aside from vodka, I also like coffee."

"Oh absolutely, I do too." She told him. "How do you like it?"

"I've gotten used to it being hot with one sugar cube," specified Piotr, "and you?"

"Two sugars for me but otherwise the same." Dinah agreed.

"Good thinking," said Piotr, "what else do you like?"

"I'm a part time singer." She said, leaning forward a bit.

"You sing? How interesting," said Piotr, "are you soloist?"

"Oh no, I'm in a rock band." She told him. "I'm singing for Ashes on Sunday at the moment."

"Ashes on Sunday..." said Piotr, "interesting name. What's the story behind the name?"

"I'm... actually not sure. I'm not the original lead and I'm rather new in show business so I'd have to look that up actually." She thought a bit, biting the inside of her lip slightly. "Well you will have my support when you sing," promised Piotr, "I'm sure you sing like angel." She put her hand on her face, covering her face after a slight chuckle. "You're quite the gentleman."

"Well, mother didn't raise a fool," said Piotr as he smiled. "Clearly." She smirked and finished her drink. The waiter came back with the wings. "Thank you," said Piotr as he smiled. He was hungry. "Thank you." She smiled at the waiter as well. "Oh! Could you bring me a Russian Vodka?" She asked. The waiter nodded, and took Dinah's glass. "Shall we dig in?" asked Piotr. "Yes." She said with clear hunger in her eyes as she grabbed one of the wings. Piotr also took a wing, starting to eat it. It was spicy, but enjoyable. She took a few bites before feeling the heat kick in. "That's pretty good. You've got good taste." She told him. "Thank you," said Piotr, "it's my favorite." He continued to eat the wing. "Mm. I can see why." She nodded. "There's a nice sports bar in Star City that sells really great wings too. Those have to be the best I've tried." She then continued eating. "I'll take your word for it," said Piotr as he finished his wing, and started on his second. Dinah also grabbed another one and started it just when the waiter brought her drink. "Thank you," she muttered at the waiter like always before taking another bite, setting it down and wiping her hands and mouth on the napkins. "It is messy," chuckled Piotr as he ate his wing. "Don't have to tell me twice." She smirked and took a sip before setting the glass down and screwing her eyes shut for a second. "Wow. That is strong."

"Tastes good, eh?" Piotr smirked as he drank some of his vodka. "Very. Stronger than I thought, though. I like it." She nodded and took a slightly larger sip, mimicking her previous actions and continuing to eat. "It is my favorite," said Piotr as he ate his wing. "Now I don't understand why they do odd flavors of vodka..."

"Mm. No, me either." She made a face and kept eating. "Cupcake flavor? Bacon flavored? Who does that?" Piotr asked, giving a dumbfounded face. "Oh no no no, Hun. Do not get those abominations close to me." She laughed a bit. "Thank you, you just described the appropriate word to describe those types of vodka," laughed Piotr, "I hope I never drink those types of vodka ever. And don't even get me started on that animated Anastasia movie." She sighed. "I've seen it once before with one of my ex's kids and it wasn't bad but wow was it inaccurate." The blonde woman laughed. "Indeed, extremely inaccurate," said Piotr, "I mean, not all of it is offensive I guess, I like the songs... if it didn't have any ties to the real Anastasia, it probably would have made a passable cartoon. And I do like the director's work. I guess you could say it's set in an alternate dimension? It's the only way I won't go in a rage. Almost like Greatest Showman."

"I can agree with that." She nodded. Once he said Greatest Showman though, she shrugged. "I never got to see it." Dinah admitted. "It's an inaccurate portrayal of PT Barnum," explained Piotr, "and it's a musical!" He sipped his vodka. "Ah..." she nodded in understanding. "Good songs?" Dinah asked. "Yes, extremely catchy," said Piotr, "the songwriters are the same ones that worked on La La Land."

"That was a good movie." She said before taking another swig. "You're a pretty big movie geek aren't you?"

"I took Illyana to movies," admitted Piotr, "consider it brother-sister bonding." She smiled. "Are you and Illyana still close?" Dinah questioned "When she was young, she was kidnapped into the limbo dimension," explained Piotr, "the demon Belasco tortured her for years, and corrupted her soul, turning her into a powerful sorceress. Luckily, she got out, and I was able to reach out to her. Her humanity is back intact. It's been a year since that's happened, and we're still close."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. That's horrible." She placed her hand over her mouth like her mother used to do. "What matters most is that she's with us now," said Piotr, "I never take her for granted."

"I'm glad to hear that. Family is not to be taken for granted, especially when they're close to you." She agreed. "You never know when you'll lose them," said Piotr, "and a second chance is rare."

"I wish I had a second chance with my mom. She died so young... I'm only a few years younger than she was when she died." She chuckled. "I'm sorry to hear that Dinah," said Piotr as he sipped his drink. "It's okay." She dismissed him as she knew it wouldn't bring her back. She just missed her. "So, how did you meet Barbara?" Piotr asked, hoping he could lighten the mood. "I've had connections to her mentor, Batman, for years because of my position in the Justice League so we met during a mission I had in Gotham." She explained, taking another sip of the Russian vodka. "How interesting," said Piotr, "what happened during this mission?" They were halfway done with the wings. "It was supposed to be a simple recon mission but we were dealing with a pyromaniac and a total asshole dressed in a bug costume and it got out of hand." She chuckled. "Wow, what are with those bug villains?" chuckled Piotr, "Peter's had his share of bug villains."

"Don't ask me, Star City isn't even half this insane and we have 2 insane archers out to get us." She joked. "One of them is Cupid, Da?" Piotr asked. He was aware of some of the rogues in Star City. "Don't remind me. That woman is insane." She sighed and chuckled a bit. "That's one of them," said Piotr as he smirked a little. He ate another wing. She took her last sip of vodka and grabbed a wing. "How long are you staying here in Gotham?" Dinah asked. "Well, I am permanent part of team," Piotr pointed out. By now they had finished all the hot wings. "If things work out in a year, you'll be seeing me in the neighborhood." He winked at her. She chuckled and moved a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I'd like that."

A random drunk saw Piotr and said, "Hey Russian dude! Can you say moose and squirrel?" Piotr scowled a little, and said, "Oh hardee har-har, we got comedian here." He wasn't going to give the drunk any satisfaction. Dinah snapped her head at the drunk and glared deeply at him, hoping he went away. "Say it!" the drunk blurted. "No way Jose," said Piotr, always wanting to say that. "Sir, would you please leave us alone?" Dinah gave him a forced smile. "What if I say no?" teased the drunk. "The bouncer will let you out," warned Piotr. "Don't think we need a bouncer," she said, keeping calm but her eyes were spelling out clear annoyance. "Trust me, you don't want to mess with her," warned Piotr. "And what about you Ivan Drago? You gonna break me?" The drunk taunted. She glared at the man even more. "Don't even try it, Hun. Now I really suggest you leave before we make you."

"Da, last warning," warned Piotr. The fact that he was staying calm was miraculous. Dinah got ready to stand up. She was known for staying calm in stressful situations but she had a short fuse. "Oh, I'm quivering with fear," the drunk taunted sarcastically. Piotr sighed. This guy was obnoxious. Dinah stood up. She had always been tall and intimidating but with heels she was even more so. She glared at him and crossed her arms. The drunk laughed, and Piotr simply whistled awkwardly. He knew this would escalate quickly. He had to admit she was tougher than Kitty. He liked that. "I will say this for the last time. Leave now before I kick your ass into tomorrow, Hun." She told him, not afraid to judo flip him or otherwise but not wanting to over escalate things. Before the guy could hurl an insult, Piotr stood up, and did a pressure pinch between where the arm met the neck on the drunk, knocking him out. "It'd be shame to ruin dress or break heel," said Piotr. "That's honestly more effective than what I was going to do." She laughed. "You've got to teach me those pressure point hits."

"What were you going to do?" Piotr asked curiously as he smiled at her. "Judo-flip him." She admitted, a little embarrassed. "Probably break his arm too if he refused to leave even then."

"Interesting combat technique," complimented Piotr, "how do you feel after two drinks?"

"Fine for now, might kick in later though." She told him. "Perhaps I should take you home?" Piotr offered. "If you're not too badly affected..." she gave him a hesitant smile. "Well your safety is my concern," insisted Piotr as he gave her a trusting look. She chuckled. "You're too sweet of a man, Piotr."

"And you are a beautiful bird," replied Piotr as he smiled at her. He knew he had feelings for her. Dinah couldn't help but blush. "We should get going. I can pay if you'd like." She offered humbly. "How about we split bill?" Piotr offered, figuring it only seemed fair. She nodded. "Yeah, sure." Dinah said and dug out her wallet from her handbag. Piotr looked at the bill, and got out his wallet. It was $26.50. "It's $13.25 each I believe." Dinah said and brought out the money. "Precisely," said Piotr as he got out $13.25 out of his pocket also. Dinah put her wallet back in after adding in the tip. "I'll hand it to the waiter." She told him. "Sounds good," said Piotr as he gave for the money. She walked over to the waiter and paid before walking over to Piotr. "Shall we?" Piotr asked, offering his arm to her once more. She nodded and wrapped her arm around his again. He smiled and they left the pub, walking around. Dinah smiled back at him. "Other than the obnoxious drunk, I had a great time". She told him truthfully. "Yeah, me too," said Piotr, "this definitely helps us bond as teammates."

"More than teammates too." She told him with a small wink. "We should do this more often," he said, smiling at her. "I agree." She told him. "Like I said, this was great."

"Maybe next time we could do something casual at one of our homes," he offered, "less harassments that way."

"Hopefully but yeah, why not?" She agreed with him and smiled. "Glad you agree," he said, thinking she was the most beautiful person he'd ever met. She made him feel normal. Dinah really liked Piotr. She got along with him quite well and he was a rather handsome man in her opinion. A few minutes later, they were outside Dinah's house. "Well, here we are. See you at work?" Piotr asked. She nodded and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for the date." Dinah told him with a smile before making her way over to the door. Piotr blushed, and stroked the part where he was kissed. It was definitely the best day ever for him. Dinah closed the door and smiled inwardly. That was one of the sweetest dates she'd ever had. She liked that. Piotr then went home where he was staying, happy as could be.

Very Special Thanks to THEYWERE12NOT16 for helping with Dinah's dialogue.