What you seek
by Rain Crow
Gadget stared up at Chip, scarcely daring to breath. His dark eyes were intense, his body rigid; she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and tried not to tremble. Dale, who was pressed tightly against her, gave her hand a brief, comforting squeeze.
If they were found out, well, they were found out.
The summer night seemed oppressively hot as her fedora wearing friend continued to stare, it seemed, right into her eyes; perhaps into her very soul. Every instinct urged her to run. She had faced down feline crime bosses and been through more than a few rough (but perfectly survivable!) plane crashes, but Gadget felt utterly helpless, perfectly terrified. Beside her, Dale remained oddly stoic, as though he'd done this a thousand times before.
She envied him that.
Chip's intense gaze seemed to waver, and he leaned back, shaking his head in confusion before turning and walking away briskly into the shadows of the Park. Gadget and Dale both let out quiet sighs of relief. She made as to move, but Dale shifted with her, gripping her paw more tightly and looping an arm around her waist, making her once more very aware of the intimate, secluded, dark, and moss covered alcove in which they lay. She risked turning her head enough to look into his eyes, which were about the only features of his face that were visible in the dark.
"Wait just a minute." He said in a hushed, husky voice.
"But," She objected, albeit with little fire, "But, Chip... we should-"
"Nuh-huh," Dale whispered back, "Give him a little while."
Being new to all of this, Gadget deferred to Dale's greater experience in handling their friend. They stayed in companionable silence for a small eternity until Gadget heard shouting from the direction of their Tree.
"That sound's like Chip and Monty..." She said quietly, "They're pretty loud. Do you think-"
"I don't know," said Dale, "But, maybe we'd better leave now."
The pair made their way out into the Park, still keeping close together but no longer touching. Gadget found that she missed the secure feeling that the physical contact had lent her. Something about Chip's gaze had unsettled her, aside from the normal uneasy feeling that arose when he got that intense look about him. It was a bit-"
A strong paw latched onto her shoulder from behind.
"GOT'CHA!"
"YAH!" Gadget screamed!
"YIPES!" Dale yelled!
"Hah, I knew you'd fall for it!" Chip laughed, letting them go and falling onto the grass with a pleased look in his eyes.
"Chip!" Gadget breathed the name, "You nearly killed me from fright!"
"Yeah!" Dale nodded, "That was great!" He gave his friend an affectionate glare, "But, I though you and Monty-"
Chip grinned, "I have strange and mysterious powers, and access to your tape player."
Dale frowned, "You'd better not leave it outside..."
Waving Dale's concerns aside, Chip adopted a snobbish air, "Why, Dale, you know I'm the responsible one in this outfit."
"Besides", he continued, pressing a finger lightly against both Dale and Gadget's noses, "You can put it up while you count, because you're it!"
He turned and scampered away into the night.
Gadget stared after him in wonder. In the two months that she'd been a Rescue Ranger she'd never seen Chip so, well, playful!
Dale noticed her staring, smiled, and explained, "Chip loves hide and seek. He's a bit of a show off actually..."
fin