I'm really sorry for not being active lately. My real life has been keeping me very busy. But now, with increasing personal pressures to finish what I began, and being prompted by the birthday of someone who has loved everything I wrote and was my very first friend in the SRMTHFG! fandom (you know who you are), I have decided to push myself into continuing. So, Happy birthday, HL!

Note: This episode immediately follows "The Sun Riders Return".

Disclaimer: I don't own SRMTHFG or any of its characters, just my character and this plot.

Chapter One: The Question is Asked

Antauri was a little late in getting up this morning. Normally, he would consider this as unacceptable, but he had the distinct sense that something special was going to happen. He had spent his last few minutes of sleep actually in deep meditation, trying to focus on whatever may be wrong. But when he sensed nothing out of the ordinary, the Black Monkey proceeded with his normal routine.

His trip to the kitchen and dining area halted when he heard a soft voice from an open door to one of the other Monkey's quarters. It was Otto.

"Hey, good morning, Hayley. … How are you doing? … I'm just dandy, thanks for asking! … Hey, listen, there's something I want to tell you."

Antauri carefully peeked into the mechanic's room, finding Otto standing in front of a mirror as he continued, "I know that I'm not the sharpest pencil on the drawing board, but, uh…"

Otto hesitated, then he dug the heel of his palm into his forehead. "No, total disaster. Um… Hi, Hayley! … What are ya working on today? … That looks cool, maybe I'll give ya a hand later. Hey, if you're not busy, I wanted to say…"

Another pause.

Then, Otto flopped down onto his sleeping pod. "Not gonna work. How in Shuggazoom am I gonna ask her?"

"Ask who what?" Antauri gently asked.

Startled, Otto gave a screech before he realized just who was at the door. "Oh, Antauri! Please don't do that again. You scared me."

"I apologize, my friend. I was simply passing by when I overheard you. Is something the matter?"

Otto shifted to and fro in his position, a little uncomfortable.

But Antauri only smiled. "I know you, Otto. And I know what her answer will be."

Otto blinked, then blushed. "Is it that obvious?"

"In a way that pleases everyone else, yes." Antauri then placed a hand on Otto's shoulder. "You'll find a way to ask Hayley. After all, sometimes the best way to speak is not to use words."

That said, he turned and left Otto alone.

The Green Monkey merely scratched his head. "Speak…without words? I don't get it…"

- - - - - - - - - -

Breakfast that morning was shorter than normal, because everyone noticed the unusually quiet behavior Otto was exhibiting. His eyes were fixed on his plate, which certainly was normal, except that his fork only poked at the pancakes and scrambled eggs and that he ate idly and sparingly. Now and then, someone would ask him if something was wrong, but he was either ignoring them or he genuinely didn't hear them.

It wasn't until mid-morning when Otto's behavior showed signs of improvement. That was when he invited the team to his workshop to see his most recent invention. He was quite adamant that everyone needed to be in his workshop this time, though it was obvious that something was still bothering him.

"So, what does it do, Otto?" Nova asked as they all stared at the big silver box.

The mechanic was down on one knee in front of it, tightening some bolts with the wrench that had replaced his hand. "Well, remember when we tried an automatic defense system just before we got trampled by Flytor?"

Silence was his only response, and he looked back to see six faces that were not amused.

"Okay, stupid question," he admitted. "Well, anyway, I've been thinking. We've been doing a lot of space trekking lately. What if Shuggazoom was under attack while we were away? This is going to be an automatic alarm system, letting us know the instant trouble starts brewing."

Chiro chuckled. "Now that's a good idea, Otto."

Otto didn't even look at him as he answered, "Yeah, but it's not finished yet. I need a couple more things, then it needs a test drive. Um, Hayley, that toolbox in the corner, it's got something I need. It's a little black square box. Could you bring it here, please?"

Sprx noticed as everyone looked in the same direction that he was the closest to the toolbox in question. "I'll get it for you, buddy."

"No!" he suddenly shrieked, looking at Sprx directly. "…Uh, I mean, Hayley would…" His tongue suddenly felt fat in his mouth, and he could only stutter.

The young female giggled softly and tickled Otto's chin with her tail. "Of course you want me to go get it," Hayley replied. "Sprx would only break it."

"Hey!" the insulted Red Monkey scolded.

But she only giggled again and skipped happily over to the toolbox. She hummed as she opened the cover and peeked in. She found the black box immediately, sitting neatly on top of all of the other tools inside.

Yet she found herself surprised as she picked it up. It was small enough to fit in her hand, and the sides were made of felt.

"Otto," she said as she walked back to him again. "I'm sure this is the box you're talking about, but…I don't think this is something that belongs in a toolbox."

The Green Monkey looked up at her. He was still on one knee, and he couldn't quite look at her in the eye. "Well…" he said casually. "Open it up and see if it's the right one."

Hayley gave him a queer stare. What a ridiculous thing to ask her. Anyone would know that Otto knew what he was doing with his belongings. But she found a small latch which she undid and opened the box.

She gave a startled gasp when she and everyone else saw what was inside. Everyone else had thought the same thing Hayley did when she first saw the box: that it probably held some rare microchip or something of the like for his project. Instead, inside was a gold band crowned with a small, blue jewel. It sparkled in the workshop lights, though it did little compared to the stars in Hayley's eyes. She always did have a weakness for stars, jewels, anything that sparkled…but she somehow knew this was different and special.

"Otto, this is a volcanic diamond from the mining colony on Delta Five, isn't it?"

The pupils in Otto's black orbs shrank in surprise at her question. "Well… Yeah… It wasn't easy asking the Sun Riders for it…" His tone was clearly giving away that he was somewhat disappointed that she cared about where the jewel came from.

Hayley looked at him again and smiled.

Otto whimpered, trying valiantly to get it out through his voice but failing miserably.

Only when he was close to his breaking point and finally looked at her squarely in the eye did she react. And her reaction was a giant glomp that pinned him to the floor, one hand holding the box delicately, the other bringing Otto's head to hers so that their lips embraced in a passionate kiss.

After they held the kiss for several seconds, Hayley pulled back. She gave Otto her biggest smile ever. And he only had his most shocked gasp to give her in return.

"Does that answer your question, Otto?" she asked with a huge grin. "Of course I will! I was beginning to fear this would never happen! I've never been this happy ever in my life!"

Antauri finally had to gently pull Hayley away from Otto to give him the chance to breathe and stand up. He took the ring box from Hayley's hand and smiled.

The Green Monkey was almost in tears at this point. This had been several months since the Monkey Team's encounter with Hayley's long lost brother Slash, since he had been charged to treasure her pricelessly. But he never really found the words to fulfill that promise.

Hayley slowly lifted up her left hand, knowing what he was about to do.

Everyone watched with smiles, though Chiro was a little surprised at first, as Otto slowly unscrewed her third finger. (They are monkeys and have only four fingers, so this finger was technically the ring finger and not the middle.) The rest of Hayley's body trembled with excitement as Otto unscrewed one of the gray metal bands on the finger he just removed and replaced it with the gold band with the diamond. He then screwed the finger back onto her hand so that the diamond was on top.

She could only stare at the ring in silence for several long moments. How clearly the shining gold and the glittering diamond stood out against the gray metal on her hand. And yet, she was certain that it wouldn't hold a candle to the shining warmth in her heart or the glittering delight in her eyes.

She knew that gold was hard to come by in Shuggazoom, and she also knew that even this small diamond could be an emergency source of power should the Super Robot fail in the middle of space. But she didn't consider this gift an extravagant waste as some others outside the Monkey Team would have felt, because this gift was but a taste of the love in Otto's heart.

A taste that she had longed for from the very moment she had met him so long ago, even if it was only on a subconscious level at that point in time.

Hayley then glanced at the team for a moment before looking at Otto again. "We'd better get started."