Blind Date Troubles

"You know, Mr. Wild," she said, "T-the sky looks b-beautiful tonight…"

The aforementioned man took a glance at the wide blues above. The stars twinkled over them and the clouds were few. "I've told you a long time ago to call me 'Rufus'. Drop the formality." he said, adding a small whisper of "It makes me sound older than I really am" quiet enough so she wouldn't hear. The girl nodded in response, muttering "Sorry" as they stopped by a big oak tree.

'How did I even get here, with her of all people? At least she's semi-normal and not someone like... Elesis' he thought.

The bounty hunter ran a hand through his thick hair and sighed, earning himself a worried look from the girl beside him. "I'm fine. Let's just go to that restaurant that we were supposed to meet at." he said.

'My team mates really are stupid enough to set me up on a double date with a random girl , without mentioning that we'd be going with Lime and her blind date.'

Earlier that day...

It was a beautiful day for everyone in Serdin. To go along with such a fine day, the Knight Master had no missions for the Grand Chase. "The monsters might have thought that they'd rather go on with their lives just for a day." she said, in a manner that clearly showed that she meant it as a joke. Unfortunately, the Chase couldn't sense it because of the stoic tone she used.

"What. The. Fucking –"

"Oh, come on Rufus! This could actually help – "

"Help my ass!" the Haros demon yelled, "How is going on a date with a random woman supposed to calm me down?"

He stared at the magic knight straight in the eye. The druid beside the poor victim visibly flinched. He heard the elf mutter "I told ya we shouldn't have told him my idea…"

'So it was Ryan who tried to send me off.' Rufus thought, making a mental note to set Ryan on the top of his bounty list. He switched his gaze to the elf boy for a second, and then to the white haired human a few ways off from the two idiots, as if to say "And you let them carry on with their plans?"

"You", he said, "need a break. They're kind of right, but I'll admit it brother, this wasn't exactly the best idea…" Brother. That word got stuck in his throat for a moment.

But then again, it's been only five months since the bounty hunter himself revealed that they were, without a doubt, half-brothers. It was only natural for Lass to still feel awkward saying the word, being an only child, or so he thought back then.

"Think of it this way," their masked comrade started, "You'll be exploring through Serdin, and then dining in a nice restaurant with a wonderful girl – "

Dio snickered quietly behind him, "Or if you prefer, a guy… or Lass…" Unfortunately for the Asmodian, Rufus caught wind of what he said. His burgundy eyes soon met ruby ones.

"What did you say, precious little prince?" he said. 'Screw the stupid tree hugger, he's going first!' he thought, "What was it… did you say that I had homosexual feelings towards my younger brother?"

Jin tried to change the subject. "Maybe it won't be a blind date. Maybe it will be someone you know, an acquaintance?" He secretly hoped that the others would catch on to what he was doing. "Please please please… speak up!" he whispered to himself.

The fighter was lucky. 'I owe you my life, Zero.' he thought.

"Um yes! Maybe one of the Chase girls – "

Suddenly Jin had an uncontrollable urge to grip his hair, and he shut off his ears the moment Zero said the words. Ronan also visibly tensed, and Ryan looked like he felt a small "shock" through his spine. He didn't notice the other boys if they had a similar reaction to the wanderer's statement.

"Maybe that is a good idea." Asin said, immediately interested in the turn of the conversation. He smiled his trademark sly grin, and glanced for a moment at his supposed rival Jin, "Just don't touch the little goddess. She's fun to tease, and being exposed to the ever bitter Rufus Wild might turn her gloomy. An upset girl no fun to toy with~"

"You are all idiots." Rufus replied, turning to leave, "Go on, do what you fucking want, but don't expect me to go with whatever woman you choose. I'm pretty sure that it's not going to be a Chaser girl, at least not that noisy dancer; Jin's too gaga for her. Not Elesis for sure, because Ronan is obviously in love, but the self-proclaimed leader is about as dumb as he is when it comes to love."

At this statement, a sleeping immortal woke up in a flash and seemed to go into his infamous rage mode.

Amy and Ley were talking to Lime Serenity when Sieghart and Zero came to ask a favour from them, as they said that they were "love and couple experts".

"So let me get this straight," the summoner said, "You want us to set up a blind date?" The dancer beside her stopped her mid-sentence.

Her pink eyes were wide, almost like if she was told that Arme suddenly grew five inches overnight. "A blind date… for Rufus? The Rufus who works alone? Are you serious?"

The forgotten girl behind them felt something like a slap to the cheek. Lime thought, 'H-he's going on a date?' She was confused as to what she was feeling for a moment before deciding that she had better leave. A hand grabbing her arm had only stopped her. "Oh no you don't little missy. Now I know what you need to do to see more of Serdin!" Amy said. The boys seemed confused. Ley answered the hidden questions the gladiator and demon had. "We're setting Lime and Rufus on a double blind date!" The holy knight's eyes widened.

"What?!"

"There's a nice guy!"

"Amy, he looks like Jin… actually, I think it is Jin! Find a guy for Lime!"

"Hmph! What about that girl over there for Rufus?"

"She looks too cheerful. Rufus will probably commit murder and suicide if we choose her!"

The demon and the dancer were almost ready to give up on finding possible dates for their two comrades. Amy piped up again.

"What about those two?"

Ley looked to the direction Amy was pointing at. There was a boy and a girl walking together. "Maybe they could work…"

So they made their way over to them and gave them an amount of money to come and be their friends' dates.

Ley chuckled. "But if those two are a couple…" Amy said, wondering about that fact. Ley simply explained that she asked for a special "surprise" later in the evening. Amy could only think of what Ley said to the two.

"I can't believe they were serious."

Rufus Wild was now being dragged by Ley and Amy towards the entrance of the Grand Chase mansion. "I'm not going!"

"We already paid! And we'll take the gold from your bounty money –"

"I will skin you alive."

In the end, he decided that his precious bounty money was more important than his own will. His opinion changed when he saw a certain green haired team mate of his.

"Why the fuck is Lime here?" he whispered harshly to the demon beside her, "I thought this was a blind date!"

Ley only chuckled, poking Rufus' red face. "Silly bounty hunter!" she said in a sing song voice, "Amy, I think we forgot to tell him that he's going on a double date~"

"I promise that one day, I'll have my sweet revenge…"

Now he was beside Lime, who was looking up in the sky. "Where are we going anyway?" The two girls had already left, and the question was directed towards her. She snapped out of her daze and replied a soft murmur of "To that restaurant that just opened, near the park?"

He simply sighed and went to walk. He glanced back when he saw that the girl wasn't following. "Come on."

Present time…

The restaurant was nice. Their food was good, almost at Ronan level, and the music was beautiful. At least it was for Lime and the two people they'd only met now. Rufus had been muttering almost all the time they tried to talk with him. In the end, the meal was almost finished, and their blind dates tried to talk to both Chasers.

Nico, Lime's date, was pleasantly sweet. He had a rich voice, and a smile that could rival Amy's. "And then I got bruised near my arm, but if it was for a good cause, I wouldn't mind…" he said, and Lime smiled in return. It turned out they had a lot in common: they loved doing good deeds, but he wanted it for money and fortune, she did it because of justice. He was someone she'd want as a she looked into his eyes though; she was immediately hit with a wave of the odd feelings from earlier, mixed with another foreign emotion. 'They're ruby too…'

"I'm very sorry if I'm bothering you with my stories…"

Rufus attempted to smile reassuringly. Judging from her reaction, apologizing one too many times, it would've had been better for both of them if he just kept a straight face. He took a glance at his team mate across from his side of the table. 'She's having a good time… why do I even care? This dating thing is making my stress levels rocket through the roof…' It wasn't that his date was terrible, but something just bothered him about her. Eve had this tendency to apologize for every little thing, and she was too polite. What had him irked the most was the hue of her hair: it was a pale mint green. He didn't know why it bothered him so much.

It was a night fair in the park. There were stalls everywhere, and the place was noisy with merchants' voices trying to sell their wares. This was their next stop, and the holy knight was taking it in all with awe. Nico was patient, but she could tell that he was getting a bit annoyed. Eve and Rufus were behind them, looking at a stall with toys. Lime stared at the treats that a stall owner was making.

"Excuse me, Lime, but I'm going to look at another stall."

She nodded and bid him a good time. Later they agreed to meet up again.

"Eve!"

"Hm, Nico?"

"Time for us to leave them!"

"Oh right~ that's what the flying lady told us!"

It was already thirty minutes since Eve left to look at more toys at another stall. Rufus was tired of waiting, so he left and tried to look for her.

What he did not expect, however, was to run into Lime, whose date was also missing.

"Rufus!" she yelled, throwing her arms around the Haros demon, "I'm so glad I found you."

His face was scarlet, eyes wide, heart thumping loudly in his chest. He was frozen on the spot. Affection was not his thing. He held her shoulders to steady them both.

She let go and backed away quickly at his touch. She hung her head low and refused to look him in the eye. Rufus saw her blushing cheeks. "Sorry, M-Mr. Wild!"

"Didn't I tell you to call me Rufus?"

He smiled, and even he was surprised at the action.

'Maybe this dating thing isn't so bad after all…'

A/N: This thing was fun to write! I hope you enjoyed it! Please tell me your opinions, if you have any.

Please don't flame because of the pairing, and the hints. We all have our preferences, besides, Rufus/Lime stories are few.