Chipmunks Keep Falling on my Head

by Stainless Steel Fox

A stand-alone fic assumes 'Good Times, Bat Times' was actually the last episode of CDRR, and is effectively GTBT part 2. Attempts to explore different ideas about the romantic relationships in the series, while sticking to C G and D F pairings.

Chipmunk's keep falling on my head – A 'Good Times, Bat Times' side story.

Notes: Inspired by the questions posed in the Acorn Café thread 'A Question to GACers' posted by Lilacstarprint (/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f4&t18711#p261548). So you could say it's all her fault.

Her premise is in fanon, Chip is generally reluctant to come straight out with his feelings about Gadget, leading to a lot of angst and romantic tension. However, this is not how he acts in the canon stories. In 'GTBT' he tries to say something twice, only to be sabotaged by Dale both times.

I have to wonder if we're missing something important in the relationship equation…

The end of 'Good Times, Bat Times' (transcript by Roy Neil Grissom)…

We are now back at the Rangers' tree where Gadget is making some final adjustments on the repaired Ranger Wing. Chip approaches her.

"Hi, Chip!" she greets him.

"Hi, Gadget. Uh, do you know where Dale is?" He is looking about as if expecting another interruption.

"Foxglove's teaching him to hang glide!" she informs him as she opens wide her mousine eyes and GAZES upon him.

"You mean, you and I are alone?" he asks, almost unable to believe his good fortune.

"Looks that way," she tells him as she finishes with the RW.

Chip is having another hot flash. He takes her delicately by the hand, opens wide his chipmunkian eyes, and GAZES upon her. (Well, he doesn't really open them wide. Okay? I just like the sound of the phrase!)

"Gadget," he begins, "there's something I've been wanting to tell you . . . "

"Gangway!" Dale's voice warns. As Chip looks up Dale glides down on a chipmunk-sized hang glider with bat-like wings and grasps his friend much as Foxglove has done him throughout this episode, holding him somewhat suggestively between his (Dale's) hind legs.

"Hey!" Chip demands, "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Sharing my new hobby with my best friend!" Dale tells him with the greatest sincerity.

"Dale!" Foxglove's voice cries out, "Remember what I told you!" She is flying beside him and keeping an eye on him.

Dale has obviously forgotten whatever it was she wants him to remember, and engages futilely in a little deep thought. "What?" he asks innocently.

"The glider won't carry two passengers!" she reminds him.

The two chipmunks assume the most hangdog expressions of the entire series and then plummet from the sky, the wings of the glider giving helplessly away.

As she watches them fall (they are obviously in no danger of serious injury) Foxglove stops flapping her wings to hold them coyly up to her face. "What a guy!" she exclaims, her eyes closed in sheer delight. Then she too plummets downward and out of the picture.

The reason for Foxglove's lack of worry became apparent as the two chipmunks dropped into the back of a City works department pick-up that had been doing some cleaning up around the park. They disappeared in a spray of leaves, only to drag themselves out a few moments later, along with the grass stained, but otherwise undamaged glider. The apparent collapse was clearly just hyper-elastic deformation.

Chip was boiling furious, and released some of it with a bonk to the back of Dale's skull.

"Hey, Whattcha do that for?!" Dale exploded.

"Because you deserved it, you're not that dumb."

"I am too! Uh… I mean…", having lost the battle of wits, Dale decided to use Kzinti diplomatic tactics. He leapt at Chip and dog-piled, or rather chipmunk piled, the fedora wearing detective into the leaves. There were several spurts of leaves and much chipmunk chatter, but after a few moments the pair staggered out of the pile, half supporting one another, and both looking the worse for wear.

Chip stated, "Just so you know, I'm still mad at you, but I ache to much to do anything about it…"

Dale looked askance at him, an expression of honest puzzlement on his red nosed face. "What for, Chip? It was just some fun…"

Chip slumped down, looking frustrated. "Fun! Whenever I try to talk to Gadget, you get in the way! I thought now you and Foxglove were together, things would change. But no… you can't leave us alone…"

Dale sat down beside him, his expression changing to stricken. "You don't want me around? But… Chip, you're my best friend…"

"Then act like it!" Maybe he realised he'd gone too far, because he sighed, and added in a defeated voice, "I guess that's unfair, you still love Gadget, just like I do… and I guess we'll keep fighting over her …"

An astute listener would have heard a small gasp at that point, but the only listener astute enough was the one who made it. It didn't help that the truck was just leaving the park, and moving out onto the noisy city streets.

"In love with… You're in love with Gadget?" Dale was wide eyed.

Chip growled. "Yes! It started back when we first met her, I guess it was a crush back then, but, I think it's more than that now. No, I know it's more! I've never felt like this before. But I want to feel more of it!"

Dale was still sitting there, mouth open, looking stunned, possibly by the rather scrambled grammar. "You mean, for real? Like you want to do mushy stuff with her."

"Yes! I've been trying to tell her how I feel, ask her to start dating, but every time we get a moment alone, you stick your big red nose in!"

"Gosh, Chip, I'm sorry…" Dale seemed genuinely contrite. "But I'm not in love with Gadget… I mean, she's beautiful, really smart, and very sweet an' all, but when she gets inventing, she gets scary! Remember that time she almost blew up the Treehouse?"

"Which time?"

"That's what I mean… She's a great friend, but… Love? Uh uh…"

A certain bat was breathing a sigh of relief, once again totally missed by the pair.

Chip was looking at the red nosed chipmunk as if he'd just turned into a Fleeblebroxian. "But… then why were you always getting between us?"

Dale ducked his head. "Because I was feeling left out, okay! You're my best friend, and when the two of you get together like that, it's like I'm not wanted anymore. Huh, I guess I see why now…"

Now it was Chip's turn to look stunned. "Dale… you're jealous of me not spending time with you?"

"Darned straight! When was the last time we had some fun, just the two of us, like we did before we started the Rangers?"

Chip thought. "You mean just the two of us, messing around… Uh, that time we taught the Colonel the loop de loop… Sword fighting during that opera performance…"

Dale said, "Yeah, and how long ago was that? I mean, you're so busy being the leader of the Rescue Rangers, you've forgotten how to be Chip, my buddy, the guy who useta build paper airplanes with me. It's like you don't do things for fun anymore."

"Hey, I have lots of fun…" Then he realised, yes, he enjoyed his mysteries, and leading the Rangers, but it wasn't the same kind he'd used to have with Dale, just messing around, no-one depending on them… "Just not the kind I used to."

"Well I miss it, and I miss the old you."

Chip asked, "But I thought you enjoyed being a Rescue Ranger, don't you? We're still together, but it's just a bigger group."

"I do! It's great! We've had some great adventures, helped a lot of people, triumphed over evil, and made a whole lot of friends on the way, but I still figure something's different.… I dunno, you're the one who's good at words."

Chip's brow was furrowed. "I think I can see where you're going, but… I'm not sure how to say it either." In this moment, his defenses were down, the recent revelations having come as a shock. "I'm sorry Dale, really I am. I just love running the Rangers, solving mysteries, feeling like I'm making a difference…"

"Bossing everyone about…" Dale added.

"Bossing every… hey!" Chip glared at the other chipmunk, but Dale had a big grin on his face and Chip started chuckling. "Okay, maybe just a bit… I'll make more time! And all along I thought you wanted to be with Gadget… hey, what about that time you tried to kiss her…"

"That was just friendly… Huh, just because I try to kiss a girl on the cheek, doesn't mean I'm contemplating marriage…" His eyes suddenly widened. "Ohmigosh! Are you…"

Chip sighed. "I don't know… heck, I don't even know if she wants me as more than a friend, or ever will. That's why I want to tell her, ask her to date, get it out in the open. Anything else…"

The realist in him took over. "… there's the species difference, and how it'll affect the Rangers… I never really thought about it before… I guess I was too wrapped up in my fight with you."

He thought a moment more. "But if she agrees, and if it is the real thing, and she feels the same way, then… yeah, I'd want to go the whole way. It wouldn't be easy, but we've faced worse odds…" He chuckled, "… how would you feel about being a best man, or an uncle?"

"Now that is scary… Hang on, would they be chipmice, or what?"

Chip shook his head. "The way I feel, I'd step into Nimnul's metamorphasier in a moment. But what about you and Foxglove? The way she acts around you, I figured the pair of you were already choosing curtains…"

Dale was getting a lot of practice at looking stunned today. "You think Foxglove is serious too?"

"Well let's look at the evidence…", Chip started ticking off points on his paw digits. "Spends every waking moment with you, has adapted to semi-diurnal life so she has more time, joins in your hobbies, laughs at your jokes, constantly says nice things about you, cuddles you at every opportunity… yeah, I don't know why, or how it happened, but I figure she's got a bad case of Dale-itis, incurable in fact."

Dale had gone dead white. "Eep!" he stated. "Uh… I thought we were just really good friends, I mean it's really nice to have a girl paying that much attention to me, but I figured that's just how she is. I never…"

There was a shriek from the far side of the pile, and a purple, bat-winged form took off like a bat out of… well you get the idea. A bat screech at audible frequencies is unnerving, and this one was heart breaking.

Chip stated, "Uh oh… I think Foxglove was listening in…"

"Ohmigosh! What'll I do? I didn't mean to hurt her feelings or anything…" Dale was panicked.

Chip made an exasperated noise, and bonked him on the head. "Go after her you goof! You've got a glider, and your sense of smell… and figure out what your going to say when you find her. And you'd better make it good."

"But, I don't know…"

Chip asked, "Do you never want to see her again?"

"Uh uh!" Dale frantically shook his head. "I just want us to be best friends, and have fun like we were…"

"But you're not interested in being anything more, even in the future?" Chip was moving, picking up a tangle of garden twine and tying one end to the glider bar with a slip knot.

"Uh… I dunno… I do like her… but I don't know if I'll feel that way, about anyone. Gee, this relationship stuff is hard!"

"All the more reason to find out with someone who already cares! Now go!"

They hauled the glider to the top of the pile, and as the truck moved off, Dale caught the wind and ascended into the sky like a kite, with Chip paying out the rope. As they reached a stop light, Dale released the slipknot and flew on, sniffing the air, both for the unique soap powder and flower scent of his bat belle, and thermals to stay aloft.

Chip watched him glide off. "Good luck, pal…"

He heard the whir of twin motors behind him as the newly rebuilt Rangerwing flew in to land. He turned and saw Gadget in the pilot seat, wearing her golf-ball helmet and goggles.

"Hiya, Chip! When you and Dale didn't come back, I thought I should come look. We don't want to end up on another garbage barge. Say, where's Dale?"

Chip walked over, pulling himself up onto the wing. "He had some stuff to discuss with Foxglove…"

Gadget frowned. "You two have been fighting again. I really don't like it when you do that."

"I've got a feeling it'll happen less in future… I was mad at him interrupting me when I was talking to you, and he was mad at me not taking it as a joke, and… yeah, we did flatten our paws on each others heads for a bit. But then we got talking." He sat in the co-pilot's seat, strapping in.

Gadget looked curious. "What about?"

"Relationships… mostly." He decided to miss out the particular flash-point that started it, and fill her in on some of the other points. "It used to be just the two of us, palling round and having fun. Now, with the time I spend on the Rangers, and with you, he feels left out."

"Golly, I never thought of it like that! I guess he would. When we relax, we do it as a team, or individually."

Chip sighed. "He told me I'd forgotten how to have fun, and maybe he's got a point. Leading the Rangers and helping people, I love it, but it's a different kind of fun from just doing something for the sake of it. In fact…" He suddenly had an inspiration. "I bet some of his goofiest moments were him trying to have fun for both of us!"

"Well, now you know, you can fix it." Gadget said confidently, looking relieved. She started the motors, and lifted the Rangerwing gently into the sky.

"I'll try. But he may have his own new interests. That's why he's flying after Foxglove. He didn't realise that the poor girl is well… 'batty' over him. He thought they were just really good friends."

"Golly, the way she acts around him… couldn't he tell how she felt?"

"Gadget… this is Dale we're talking about."

She thought this over for a moment. "Okay, point granted."

"Anyway, she overheard him saying they were just friends, and took it kinda hard."

"The poor girl…", Gadget said, a catch in her voice.

"Dale's gone after her to apologise."

"Ummm… Chip, is that wise? Dale can be…"

"A goofball, irresponsible, and utterly clueless at figuring out peoples feelings… Yep, all of the above. But when things get serious, when it counts, so does he. Underneath that goof exterior, he's got enough heart, enough guts to supply a regiment. I just hope he can make that clear to Foxglove."

Gadget was surprised. It wasn't often that Chip was so openly positive about Dale. That talk they had must really have been something. "Gosh, I hope so too. Do you think maybe he'll start to like her too?"

Chip shrugged. "Don't know. I'd like to think he will. He may drive me nuts sometimes, okay a lotta the time, but he's my friend after all, and I want him to be happy. I really think Foxglove could be the one to do it."

In city traffic, the truck hadn't really moved far, so it was only a few moments before they reached the park, and only a moment more to make a perfect landing on the Treehouse main landing branch.

He jumped down from the Rangerwing as the motors spun down, then moved around to the other side to help Gadget down. Not that she needed it, but he liked doing that kind of thing for her. She'd left her helmet on the seat, and her goggles were pushed back, so her hair had sprung out to it's usual dimensions, sparkling like a golden halo in the sunlight.

As she jumped down, her paw in his, she noticed his stare and asked, "Uh… Chip, you said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Oh, yes…" He sighed, then caught himself. "Yes, there's something I've been wanting to say to you, wanted to for a long time…"

Station Break… (Evil laughter ensues)

More Notes: I will be writing what I think happened, but like all fanfic, it's sui generis. Note that I'm sticking to established canon. I was going to mention Clarice as an example of what Chip thought was happening, but it's only fanon, though widely accepted, that 'Two Chips and a Miss' is part of the RR timeline.. I also took that GTBT is the last story in canon, at least the way I want things to go.

For all those wondering... Kzinti are big cat-like aliens from Larry Niven's 'Known Space' stories. As one of their diplomats, 'Speaker to Animals' (This means any non-Kzin, not what you're thinking) says: "In challenging a kzin, a simple scream of rage is sufficient. You scream and you leap."

When we last left the red nosed one, his relationship with Foxglove was up in the air, literally. Would he find her?... If not this'll be a short story!

&

Dale soared through the sky, his bat glider weaving back and forth, hunting for a certain pink bat. A casual observer would be surprised at how skilled the chipmunk was at a skill normally only practiced by flying squirrels. The thing most people forgot about Dale was that when he actually got interested enough in something to work at it, he could be surprisingly competent.

He'd enjoyed his time in the air with Foxglove, and her warm praise as he'd improved, and now it showed as he moved from thermal to thermal, provided in plenty by the busy streets below. While he was looking out for a pink shape, his main tracking tool was his sensitive red shnozz. As he glided, he sampled the air, seeking the unique mixed scents of pink fur and washing powder…

There! Faint, and almost masked by a hot dog stand below, but… He wheeled and turned on the rising heat from the grill, seeking a direction. He dived out of the thermal, swooping down towards the bell tower of a chapel that sat alone in an overgrown garden lot. The scent became stronger, and he could hear a faint noise from the belfry.

He stalled at the sill, and dropped down, feathering his glider wings and landing lightly on the edge. The interior was shadowed, several bells hanging from the rafters above, supports and bracing above them, and ropes hanging down through the hole in the centre of the floor. He searched for Foxglove and didn't spot her at first, until he managed to figure out the direction of the sound.

He looked up, and hanging from the handle of the spindle holding the biggest bell was a cocoon-like bundle, from which emerged a soft sobbing. It took him a few seconds to resolve the shape, Foxglove, sealed away from the world, only her feet and ears peeking out of her enfolding wings. He could even see the runnels of tears that had trickled down her ears, and collected at the tips. He jumped down, letting the glider drop to the floor, and moved over to bound up on to some convenient debris.

"Uh... Foxglove... Foxglove! Please, I know you can hear me. Don't fly off the handle... okay bad time for a pun... aw, I'm no good at this kinda stuff!" He slumped down on his hindquarters raising a pile of dust, and sneezed hugely. When he recovered, he noticed the sobbing had stopped.

"Please don't fly away again, because then I'll just have to track you down. Not that it's an effort or anything, I'll follow you clear to Kookamunga if that's what it takes to get you to listen to me..." he sighed. "Whatever else, you're my friend, and like I said that night, friends don't desert friends!"

That got a slight reaction from the bundle hanging in front of him, a voice, faint as a whisper. "I... guess... but friends... is that all?"

"I didn't figure out we were anything else! Y'know, I like being around girls and stuff, but I never figured on a girl really liking me back. Oh, I knew you liked me, but I didn't get that you liked me liked me, like in a romantic sorta way. Chip had ta explain it to me, and he used small words." The red nosed chipmunk hung his head. "I guess I'm just a big dumb goofball."

That got Foxglove to unfold, at least part way. She gazed at him from 'below' her wings, the tear streaks clear on her forehead, as she said, "No you're not! You're kind and sweet and funny and brave and honest and gentle and everything. You never lied, or tried to make out there was anything more than that to us... in fact you didn't try to make out, full stop... Is it... because I'm a bat? I know I'm not as beautiful as Gadget..."

Dale looked back at her, eyes widening. "Uh uh! The species thing didn't even cross my mind... which woulda been a short trip anyway, so I mighta missed it if it did." He thought for a few seconds. "Okay, maybe sorta, without me really noticing, but only because it made me less likely to figure out you might be interested in a chipmunk that way... And don't you put yourself down. You got your own kinda beauty, the way you talk, the way you move through the air... Even I can see that, I just wasn't bright enough to work it all out until now!"

The bat sighed, and opened up her wings the rest of the way. "Dale, stop putting yourself down. It's all my fault. I made a real big mistake, and you got caught up in it."

Dale shook his head frantically, "But you've never been anything other than nice to me! How's that a mistake?"

"Oh no, this was before I met you... in fact it was the reason I met you, sort of, I couldn't have let you fall, even if it hadn't been love at first echo return... You see, I don't remember anything before I met Winifred. She told me I was her faithful familiar and assistant, and I tried my best, but she never seemed to happy with my work. I was proud to take the most dangerous jobs, and work all day as well as night, grabbing my meals on the fly, and mostly they were flies because I didn't have time to hunt up anything else..."

She made a bleah face, indicating she didn't like to eat flies, which was not surprising, considering where they'd usually been just beforehand. "But I did it all gladly, because I was special. After all, if she didn't expect so much of me, why would she be so mean when I was the slightest bit late, or fell down exhausted?"

Dale was inwardly thinking dark thoughts of ways to prank a human who deserved it... like putting too much sugar in her tea, or hiding her slippers. Okay, not that dark. But he answered her.

"Uhh... because she was an evil old biddy with a heart full of meaness and you were an easy target who was too loyal and nice for your own good?"

The bat put her wingtips to her cheeks and opened her mouth in the 'I just used aftershave for the first time and now I will scream in pain' pose, a.k.a the 'Mcauley Kulkin' position.

"My goodness! You really think so?"

Dale slapped a paw to his face.

"Way too loyal and nice... at least for her, but don't change, because I like you that way..." he quickly added. "I'll never take advantage of you like that!"

She smiled. "I know you wouldn't, cute stuff." Then she sighed.

"Actually I think it's the other way round. You see, even back then I felt there had to be something more to life than scoldings and the zappings, so I started looking through those magic books she'd stolen from the library. But the only thing I could find, or at least read using the dictionaries she'd stolen, was a spell that would let me recognise my perfect partner, the one who I could be forever happy with.

"One night, while she was sleeping, I managed to borrow that scrubbing brush she used as a wand, and cast it on myself. From then on I spent every moment I was on jobs for Freddie searching, and that made me late, and got me into even more trouble. But I never gave up hope, even though the few male bats I pinged were cold custard without sugar..."

She dropped down, and landed gracefully in front of him. "Then, that night we met, I heard your echo return, and it was like a choir of angels singing in my ears. I knew then that you were the one, someone who I could love forever. Up until then I hadn't even known what the spell would do to me... and afterwards I didn't care, or rather I did, but only about getting to know you."

Dale slumped. "So it's kinda a 'love at first sight' spell?" It figured that the only way a girl could fall in love with him was by magic.

Foxglove clearly realised what he was thinking, because she shook her head violently enough that her ears generated a breeze. "Oh no no no! It wasn't an Enchantment, it was a Divination spell. It only made it clear to me who my true love was, it didn't impose emotions on me... that happened naturally. You were so sweet, and shy, I just wanted to cuddle you... and as I got to know you, the feelings got stronger, the spell was right on the money."

She looked downwards, apparently examining the floor. "But I made a mistake, I only just figured out what. I thought you'd feel the same way about me automatically, maybe you'd start off shy, but you'd come to see me as your one true love..." She closed her eyes and tears started forming, "... but the spell description didn't say anything about that! It only told me who could be my perfect partner, not who would be, and it never mentioned that they would feel the same way. I just assumed it..."

She held out her wingtips in a 'open handed' posture. "I do love you, Dale, but I heard on one of the late late shows something about, 'If you truly love someone, let them go.' So if that's what you want..."

"NO!" Dale's heart went out to the bat standing in front of him. "Uh... remember what I said about Kookamunga? Please, Foxy, don't go away! You told me all about you, now I gotta tell you about me."

He took a deep breath. "Foxy, I'm not good with fancy words, so I'm probably going to mess this up some, but hear me out. Back before the Rangers, I always let Chip do all the joined up thinking. It was easier, and he always liked to... and then when we were the Rangers, there was had Gadget, who's some kinda super genius, and Monty, who's been everywhere and done everything. I guess I just kept on letting them make the decisions, except for a coupla times where I felt I wasn't a part of things, and then a lot of my decisions were the wrong ones."

Foxglove propped her head on one wingtip. "Like when you wrecked that French cat's evil sound machine, or the time you stopped a spy from stealing that flying tank... Dale, you saved the entire world from being blown up by aliens! You're amazing, and anybody who can't see that needs their head examined!"

Dale shook his head, "I was lucky, and I had the others to help out, most of the time anyway. What I'm trying to say Foxy is... I don't know if I'm ready to love someone! Heck, even someone as smart as Chip was worryin' about what he felt for Gadget. I've seen some late shows, talking about how love needs trust and commitment and a whole lot of other grown-up stuff.

"That scares me, worse than anything we ever faced as Rangers... well maybe that banshee at first... I'd goof up somehow, and then I'll hurt us both. And I don't want you to be hurt, ever. I didn't mean to shoot you down like I did, but I don't know if I can be that perfect guy you're thinking about."

The bat gazed at him, a small smile on her face. "Oh, honey! The fact you're thinking about it makes me feel so much better. And as far as I'm concerned, you already are my perfect guy. I don't mind being shot down, as long as you're there to catch me."

Dale grinned, relieved at how she was taking it. "I guess you could say it was friendly fire, or more accurately, I didn't know it was loaded. So, for now, could we go back to being friends... uh... go on to being friends... you know what I mean! As for the rest, I dunno, it may take a while. I'll try and get used to the idea, but I'm not exactly the most sensitive or romantic type of guy."

"You're doing fine at the moment, Dale." Foxglove said, "I'll try not to come on so strong in future. I can wait, 'cause I know you're worth waiting for."

He looked into those golden eyes, and wondered exactly what he was so scared of. Now that the initial shock had worn off, the idea that someone loved him gave him a wonderful feeling, right deep down inside. It also made him even more determined that he wasn't going to hurt Foxglove's feelings, or let anyone else hurt her at all.

He'd started out when they were still fighting Winifred, trying to impress her, but as she became a friend, he'd stopped, gone back to his usual self. But she still loved him, apparently. He remembered something he'd heard on that same late, late show about relationships (in Silver Age comic books, but the principle was the same.)

"Hey, no need to go changing on my account. I figure it's kinda overdrawn anyway, since you've been doin' all the things I wanted to. Maybe next time we should do something you want to. Boy, I don't even know what things you like."

Foxglove's happy expression made him feel 10 feet tall. "Oh Dale, that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever asked me! But we already do. Winifred never gave me time for any hobbies, so I just watched the late, late shows, after all, to me they're daytime TV. That and flying were the only things I got to enjoy. But since I've been with you, you've introduced me to comics and midday snacks, and teaching you to fly has been such fun… about the only thing I don't like is your Iron Goose music, and that's because it hurts my ears… but I can wear ear muffs."

Dale was looking a lot more relaxed now. "Or I can get Gadget to make me some headphones, so that isn't a problem."

It was official, Foxglove was fantastic, and deserved someone better than him... so he'd have to become that someone, while still staying the guy she liked right now... This relationship stuff was complicated. She was standing there, wings open, and he realised, 'This means something...' Normally by this time he'd be enfolded in a double winged hug...

He made the connection, stepped forward and stretched his paws out to hug her. She melted into it, but waited a second before returning the cuddle. Wings hugged better, he decided. But it still needed something...

This was unexplored territory for him, and a fertile field to mess up, so he did what he always did when faced with a problem beyond Dale Oakmont, looked for someone else to fill in the gaps... like Double o' Dale, or the Red Chipmunk of Courage... no none of those would work... he suddenly remembered a scene from 'The Mask', yes, that would do nicely.

Foxglove felt his posture change slightly, straighter and more solid, and then she was swept into a dip... the position, not the condiment... as he kissed her right on the lips. She didn't exactly have anything to compare it with, but it was very, very good. Her tail stuck straight out, and one foot popped out backwards by itself, as if she was a heroine from an old late night movie, or the duck from 'Chicken Little'.

The kiss lasted until oxygen deprivation started, or maybe the mutual dizziness was down to something else. When they were finally upright, she found herself staring into his surprised eyes. "Oh... Dale..."

Though they were out of the hug, he was still holding her wingtips in his paws. "Whoa! I didn't expect that! Uh... Foxy... was that okay? I never kissed a girl like that before..."

"I never got kissed like that before... well, I never really got kissed ever! That was your first time? You think you could do better? If you ever do, make sure they have a defibrilator ready, 'cause I'm going to need it!" She giggled, and Dale found it the most wonderful sound he'd ever heard, and he joined in with a chuckle of his own.

"Y'know, that whole bit about having to get used to the idea of loving you? Somehow, I don't think it'll take at all long. C'mon, Foxy-lady, lets go back and tell the others that I got a bat in my belfry..." He looked around, "Your belfry... gosh, you know what I mean!"

"Mmmm... yes!" The bat glided across to the Dale's glider and hauled it up to the window sill. "Need a tow, cute stuff?"

Dale bounded up beside her and slipped into the glider frame. "Uh uh, I got plenty of my own!" He wiggled a foot as he dived off the sill, and caught the wind. He swooped and soared, balancing himself on a wind current to hover some distance away. "C'mon!"

"Oh, my, what a guy!" she said, mostly to herself, and then, "Coming..." The bat belle flew up beside him, and they wheeled and turned together, flying off into the sunset.

Meanwhile, while Dale went up to bat, back at the Treehouse, Chip was making his pitch for the affections of Gadget. He'd brought her up to date on the situation with Dale, and as the Rangerwing landed at the Treehouse, he returned to the topic he'd been about to broach before Dale did his own pick up line...

Chip jumped down from the Rangerwing as the motors spun down, then moved around to the other side to help Gadget down. Not that she needed it, but he liked doing that kind of thing for her. She'd left her helmet on the seat, and her goggles were pushed back, so her hair had sprung out to it's usual dimensions, sparkling like a golden halo in the sunlight.

As she jumped down, her paw in his, she noticed his stare and asked, "Uh… Chip, you said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Oh, yes…" He sighed, then caught himself. "Yes, there's something I've been wanting to say to you, wanted to for a long time." He looked deeply into her eyes, and she coloured slightly. "Gadget Hackwrench, I am in love with you, or at least I think I am, I do know I've never felt like this about a girl before..."

He got no further before the mouse inventor squeaked joyfully, and snuggled up. "Oh Chip, it's the same with me... I mean, not that I'm in love with myself, obviously, not that I hate myself either, what I mean is that it's you I love, or at least the feelings I have seem to correspond to those defined as love by a majority of informed sources..."

As she went on, Chip was stunned, taking a few seconds to return the hug, but not being completely brain dead, he did. He'd expected her to be nervous, embarrassed or hesitant, which was why he'd intended to follow up with a request that they start dating to see if she could feel the same way about him.

"Oh boy... Gadget, I never expected... I hoped... but... why didn't you say anything until now?"

The mouse inventor loosened her hold and looked at him quizzically. "But Chip, I know you don't like forward girls. I didn't want to mess things up by being over eager..."

Chip stared back. "Where did you get that cuh-razy idea?"

Gadget was non-plussed. "Golly, it was obvious from the way you reacted to Tammy. Besides you're such a take charge kind of guy, and... well, I was a bit nervous."

Chip couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. "Ohmigosh... You were nervous? For the record, the main reason I reacted to Tammy the way I did was because I was already falling in love with you, which is why I was complimenting you all the time. Besides, she was only a kid... well she seemed like a kid to me."

He scratched the back of his head with one paw. "But surely, you must have figured out how I felt before now, the times I brought flowers, and asked you to go on picnics..."

Gadget cocked her head to one side in an unconsciously cute gesture, something Chip always thought of as 'looking at the problem from a different angle'.

"Golly, you mean you were trying to show you loved me? But I thought picnics were just friendly things to do, and as for flowers... herbology isn't really a field I do experiments in. In fact, in general, I've studied biology, but I've never had the opportunity or desire to make any practical use of the knowledge. The pot was useful that time I needed a cover for that drive fan..."

"Um..." Was Gadget actually that clueless about dating? Chip reviewed possible sources of knowledge. No mother, sisters or pre-Ranger girlfriends known. Films... Gadget watched PBS and sci-fi occasionally, but not often as she couldn't resist complaining about the technical mistakes and then there was the time Dale forced them at marshmallow point to watch 'The Princess Bride' and 'The Mask'. Chick flicks were out. Books, likewise, she curled up with encyclopedias and text books, not romance novels. As for her father... in short, she just might be.

"Well sort of... They are kind of dating things to do, and I wanted to date, because I liked you, and wanted to see how far it went. That's what dating is, after all. Two people getting to know one another without interruptions, to see how much they like each other."

Gadget looked deflated. "I didn't know. All that time I wasted by not understanding. I'm sorry I didn't react like a normal girl..."

"No! It was my mistake. I shouldn't have treated you as a normal girl, because you're special! I was too dumb to see that at first. I had a crush on you from the moment you took off your helmet for the first time. You are, after all, extremely beautiful. Even though you quickly showed there was more too you, I guess it took me time to realise that normal dating methods weren't working.

"Luckily I figured out other ways to do the same thing, helping out in the workshop, going out with you on junk finding expeditions. It all worked out for the best. I learned a lot, both about engineering and about you, and grew to love you for who you were, a kind, generous, beautiful genius inventor. In short, not normal, but exceptional."

Gadget blushed deeply. "Golly Chip, do you really think so? When I was travelling with dad, I met a few guys, and they seemed to like me, but as soon as I started talking about my inventions they seemed to turn away."

Chip could see why. A lot of young guys, would be intimidated by someone as brilliant as Gadget. Even though she never made a big thing of it, she was a super genius, and that combined with her clueless-ness about some more ordinary things...

"Gadget, I certainly do. What I don't see is how you came to like me. I may not be stupid, but I can't come close to your intelligence. Plus, I know I'm not always the easiest guy to get along with, sometimes."

Gadget nodded. "You tend to be stubborn once you've made a decision, and get annoyed pretty easily, especially when Dale's goofing off. But none of that matters... at least not much, because you don't stay mad, and you will change your mind if you get new evidence. I guess it comes with being leader... you have to make decisions, and believe they're right, and I know I get annoyed when something doesn't work, so I can see it applying to people messing up your plans."

Chip was surprised at her insight, and then surprised that he should be. He should have remembered his own words that Gadget was a genius, and very honest and open about her own feelings.

"Wow... you've really thought about this... When did you start to like me?"

"W'llactually, it was just after we crashed at Glacier bay. When I was feeling pretty down about myself, you encouraged me, and it was the same throughout that entire adventure. When even Plato thought it was hopeless, you were the one with the heart... and the stubbornness... not to quit. More than anyone else, the Rescue Rangers was your idea. If you hadn't pushed it, and kept the idea going

"I guess I admired that, and those feelings sort of grew as we kept on working together. You were always courageous and dedicated, thinking about the teams safety, always the one to keep us on track when the going got rough. And when you don't let that temper or stubbornness get in the way, you can be a really sweet, caring guy. It just sometimes takes you some time to let it show. You did eventually, with Mitch, and even with Tammy."

Chip ducked his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I guess I should show more caring and less temper... From now on I'll try, at least."

Gadget put her paws under his chin and lifted his face to look into hers. "That would be wonderful."

Chip sighed. "No, you're wonderful. I'm just a chipmunk who's been far too lucky."

Gadget grinned. "You know I don't believe in luck. I do believe in you."

Chip grinned back and his ears wiggled, causing Gadget to giggle. She said rather shyly. "Y'know, at this point in a movie, the guy and girl usually kiss."

Chip replied, "Well, if you want to... I certainly do..."

The two of them came together, enfolding their arms around each other and angling their heads so they wouldn't bump muzzles. As their lips ame together, their eyes closed. Whereas Dale and Foxglove's first kiss was enthusiastic, this was tender, but no less passionate. Gadget's tail didn't stick straight out, it curled around Chip's waist instead. Her leg did pop though.

After a long, timeless moment, the two parted. Gadget was the first to speak. "Golly..." she barely breathed, "That was..."

"...very, very nice!" Chip finished.

"W'lactually, I was going to say, 'worth the wait.', but that's good too. We should do that more often. Well we will do that more often, since we've only done it once, and therefore if we ever do it again, it will automatically increase the mean frequency of kissing..."

"You'd be amazed at just how little problem I have with that idea... love." replied Chip.

Gadget shivered a little with delight. "I like it when you say that..."

There was another kiss, even longer and more thorough than the first. When they came up for air, they realised they were being watched. Dale and Foxglove stood at the main door to the Treehouse, paw in wing. Dale's glider rested by the doorway.

"Don't mind us, you guys..." Dale called out.

Gadget said, "Right now I wouldn't mind if both wings fell of the Rangerwing... well I would, but it wouldn't be the urgent thing it normally would be because I'm too busy feeling good that Chip and I are officially a couple."

"Goodness, it appears to be catching." said Foxglove, snuggling close to Dale. "Us too!"

Chip and Dale exchanged looks.

"I gotta be the luckiest chipmunk in the world..." Dale said, at last.

"No, I am!" Chip responded sharply, then smirked. "But I won't say so, because Gadget doesn't like you and me fighting."

"Aww! Then what'll we do for fun?", Dale said, snickering. Foxglove started whispering in his ear, and he turned as red as his nose.

Chip burst out laughing. Gadget looked puzzled, then comprehension spread across her face. "Oh, I see. Foxglove is taking the imprecision of the nominative plural to deliberately misinterpret Dale's question, and saying what she and Dale can do that is fun, probably involving lots of kissing and canoodling."

"To start with..." Chip said, wondering if Gadget was gently pulling his leg. He looked down, and she was, with her tail. "I hope some kissing and canoodling may be a part of our future too."

"Oh, you can be sure of that, kissing, canoodling and maybe even kayaking..." she giggled again.

This time it was Chip that blushed. But he recovered swiftly. "What, out here? I think we should take this conversation inside..."

And they did.

Fin

Notes: Okay, this started as a way to explore Lilacstarprint's question about how Chip is portrayed in fanfic as being reluctant to press his suit with Gadget. In the canon, however, he's not apparently only ready to press his suit, but wear it at the wedding.

In thinking about the variation between canon and fanon, I realised that Dale was often portrayed as just having accepted Foxglove romantically. So I decided to explore another option, he really is that clueless. To him it's a big game, not serious, and it takes some fairly explicit hints to get him to accept it is serious. Of course, it's also canon that when Dale stops goofing around, he can be very good at what he does, especially when he uses media icons as his models.

It turned into a personal challenge as I wrote, to try and re-examine the accepted (by many) relationships.

Given those personalities for Chip and Dale, would their continuous fights be simple romantic tension over Gadget?

Why does Foxglove love Dale so strongly, and how could it have come about so fast (I explored another answer to that in a different fanfic, 'Falling in Love'). I chose not to explore another option, that Foxglove sees it the same way as Dale, a girlfriend/boyfriend relationship without wanting anything more. It's possible, given the canon evidence.

And Gadget herself. Often portrayed in fanfics as having massive hang-ups that prevent her from admitting her feelings, or sometimes even realising them until she's pushed into it by Chip's declarations. I think a simple misunderstanding, based on her canon clueless-ness about relationships, is an acceptable alternative.