Chapter One: Taruto/Pudding in the Park

"You're late, na no da."

The pigtailed alien child inwardly cringed. For all his girlfriend's childishness and young age, she cared a lot about faux pas (or, rather, the avoidance thereof) and keeping appointments.

"Sorry?" he offered tentatively. I don't suppose that'll help.

As always, Pudding seemed to read his mind. "No, it won't help, na no da." She scowled for as long as she could—which wasn't very long. "I'll tell you how you can make it up to me though, Taru-Taru!"

"Don't call me Taru-Taru!" The complaint was reflexive, not born of any real annoyance or expectation that she would listen.

"Do you want Pudding to forgive you or not? Hey, why are you late anyway, na no da?" Her keen eyes fixed on him as though they could read the truth that way.

Taruto didn't really want to answer that. He didn't want the youngest Mew Mew to think about just how mad his older brothers would be if they knew that he snuck out to meet her. Not that they knew for sure; but he had a definite feeling that Pai at least had figured it out. (Kisshu was too obsessed with the pink Mew Mew to think about anyone else's personal life.)

Of course, the youngest alien boy suspected that there was something between his purple-haired brother and Pudding's "Lettuce-oneechan."

The yellow Mew Mew was still waiting for an answer. She had really matured in these past months, and had a much longer attention span. "Well? Pudding would like an answer, na no da."

"I, um...I got held up at home. Pai had this project for something or other." Please just drop it.

It was hard to say whether she responded to what he'd said or what he'd thought when she sighed, still dissatisfied, "Okay, na no da."

"So—?" He really did want to make it up to her. It was so hard on the brown-haired boy when the monkey-girl was mad at him.

"So what, na no da?" Her wicked grin told him that she knew perfectly well what he was getting at. She just felt like being difficult.

And maybe I deserve it. Sometimes Taruto still wasn't sure why Pudding agreed to meet him. "So, how can I make it up to you?"

She tilted her head, pretending to think. "Taru-Taru, you want to make it up to Pudding, na no da?" Before he could answer, her smile turned sweet and innocent—too innocent. "How sweet, na no da! Okay, Pudding wants an ice cream cone, na no da!"

He'd had a feeling that something like this was coming. "And you want me to get it for you, don't you?" he asked with an involuntary smile. Already he was planning how to snatch two ice cream cones without having to pull out the remainder of his Earth money.

"Yup, na no da!"

"Then you're going to have to earn it," he teased. "You distract him"—he gestured toward the ice cream vendor—"and I'll get the ice cream."

Her smirk was as mischievous as his. "Let's go, na no da," she said conspiratorially.

The ice-cream vendor, a pleasant-faced middle-aged guy, smiled at the cute little girl who approached him. "Hello, little girl, what would you like?"

"Um..." This is harder than Pudding thought it would be, na no da! "What flavors do you have, na no da?"

I just love it when people ask! That's when I can get rid of the less popular ones, like banana-root beer—for some weird reason, that one doesn't sell so well. He started enthusiastically and meticulously listing off flavors, walking around the cart to slide a cabinet open, pointing to each flavor he described.

Pudding barely glanced at the flash of red behind the man. She knew that when he put his plan into action, she would hear—

Screams split the air. "Ahh! It's a mutated Venus flytrap!"

Yeah. That, na no da. She thought sarcastically as the ice cream vendor, with the rest of the park visitors, ran for his life.

Taruto and Pudding sat on a park bench, eating ice cream cones. Hers was mango; his was the same.

"Nice job, na no da," she congratulated him. "It worked perfectly."

He grinned. "Of course it did."

They talked for quite a while about inconsequential things. Just enjoying the July day together like a normal couple.

A certain pink robot flew away covertly. His processing abilities told him that this was something that Ryou shouldn't see—he'd be very angry, and who knew what he'd do or say?—so as he returned to Cafe Mew Mew, he erased the only evidence of Pudding and Taruto's happy day in the park.