Disclaimer: No one mentioned belongs to me.
Flynn figured this would've been up there with the best dates of all time, if it actually was a date. It had been Flynn's turn to go and get groceries, and Gemma had volunteered to keep him company. It was rare to see her without Gem around to finish her sentences, so Flynn had been more than a little thrilled. Gemma was sort of an intoxicating person to spend a lot of time around, moreso when her brother wasn't there. It was sort of delightful, the way she found joy and excitement in everything. Particularly mechanics. It was nice to have someone to talk to.
"Don't you just love a sunny day?" she enthused, jumping from the car and spinning in the parking lot once before slamming the door.
"Probably not quite as much as you do," he said lightly, laughing to himself. Belatedly, he hoped that she didn't take offense at his statement. She had, after all, spent years in an underground bunker, and had every reason to love the sunlight like a blooming flower.
But Gemma didn't seem to take offense at much of anything. She just kept grinning and bounding about with an insane amount of energy. If she was any kind of flower, she was a singing, dancing one from a cartoon.
Flynn pulled the shopping list from his pocket and eyed it. Essentials like bread and milk, nacho fixings for Dillon, an obsessive amount of candy for Dr. K, and of course, all the juice and fresh fruits and vegetables Flynn could carry. If it weren't for him, he suspected the Rangers would be eating exclusively from the pizza place in town.
Gemma gleefully snatched the paper from his hand. "Oh! I'll get these!"
"They're not for you, you know."
"No, they're for Dr. K. She doesn't like it when other people touch her marshmallows." Gemma thought this over. "Unless it's Ziggy."
"She hates it when Ziggy touches her things most of all."
This caused Gemma to pause, cocking her head to one side and studying him. "You don't know much about girls, do you?"
"And you do?" That was another of the things that he regretted saying once it was too late to take it back. Dealing with Gemma was a hair off from dealing with Summer or anyone else. More than a hair. Gemma was an individual unto herself, and he hadn't quite worked out how to communicate with her in a non-work way. Of course, a lot of it had to do with the fact that he was on the wrong side of twenty, and had never quite managed to figure out how to talk to a girl. Summer and Dr. K were different, because not that he'd ever admit it, but he never really thought of them as 'girls'. Obviously they were, but it had been made very apparent from the get-go that they were unavailable in the worst way, and so it had never crossed his mind. Which worked out well, since he'd gained a sister in Summer, and a... well, whatever Dr. K was.
But Gemma was different. Gemma was a girl, yes, but worse, he was interested. Which left him in this state of saying not quite the right thing, and then instantly regretting it.
Luckily for him, Gemma was different. Different enough that she didn't seem to find all the things wrong with the comment that Flynn had. She just shrugged at him cheerfully, "Yep!" and bounded inside.
"We'll break it up into halves," said Flynn, folding the list carefully and tearing it at the crease. After a second's thought, he gave the junk food side to Gemma and kept the practical side to himself. He had his doubts that she knew quite how to buy fruit. "First one to the register wins."
"Wins what?"
He hadn't thought that far ahead. "One favor from the loser."
Gemma's face lit up in an expression of delight. It would've charmed him if it didn't worry him. "Anything?"
"Anything legal," he modified. "Nothing that blows up."
She pouted, very briefly. "Boo."
Flynn patted her shoulder. "Stay strong."
"Strong and fast!" she chirped, waving her paper in his face before dashing off to the sugary confection aisle. Flynn had no time to wonder if he'd been played or not before he snatched a basket and went to grab the items on his list. Fortunately, since the items he had to pick were ones he'd put on the list originally, so he could modify it accordingly. It might have been cheating, but Gemma had the head start, after all. He gave a melon a squeeze, deemed it worthy, and lay it carefully on top of the pyramid of citrus and berries already in his basket.
"Just need to get the wheat bread..." he muttered, grabbing a loaf and heading for the registers, "and..."
"Done!" Gemma said cheerfully, sitting on top of the counter in front of a bemused cashier. Her basket, crammed with junk food, sat on her lap, and a brilliant smile sat on her face. She waved.
"Aw," moaned Flynn. He went over to take her basket from her, their hands brushing. "What are you going to make me do?"
"I was thinking of making you help me with an experiment," she said thoughtfully. She seemed fixated by watching the cashier scan the items, all the lights and bleeping sounds. Once again, he was reminded of all the things he took for granted that Gemma had never experienced in her secluded life.
"Oh? Like what?"
Gemma turned abruptly, reached up on her toes, and planted her lips on his firmly. It took Flynn a moment to process, but then he was kissing her back, and it was, surprisingly, exactly like what he imagined. She turned away from him just as quickly and started counting out money for the cashier, who looked tired.
"What was that?"
"The experiment."
"And was it..." Flynn realized he had absolutely no idea what was going on. "Was it okay?"
Gemma gave him another of those cheerful smiles that made his internal organs reverse themselves. "It went great."
"That's, um, well, that's great."
"Yes. It is."
He decided not to question it. Looking a gift horse in the mouth, and whatnot. For not a date, the afternoon had really turned out to be the best date ever.