I owed my friend a favour for something important. I promised her a fic and pretzels for it. This is what I wrote and I'm so proud. Okay I'm not sure how Shark works BEAR WITH ME.


Yuma had taken blind date to a new extreme, one Ryouga wasn't particularly impressed about. He blindly stumbled, arms out in front of him to stop himself from walking into things as Yuma led him. He must have looked ridiculous, but he didn't trust the other with guiding him. Last time, he walked into a metal pole, and was laughed at. His eyes had been blindfolded, for some incredibly idiotic reason he didn't bother to listen to, probably believing this was part of the condition for a date. This was Yuma; nothing intelligent could have possibly arisen from whatever he was going to say. He knew that from experience.

All Ryouga knew was his date was going to be a 'hot chick', and that he needed to wear his best suit and to look presentable, even if he already looked presentable. He looked fine in his usual attire, anyway. Yuma assured him that it really did not suit - haha, he made a pun! - the situation. When asked if he could have removed the blindfold, Yuma refused. This was so stupid.

Ryouga didn't really have a plentiful choice of outfits to wear for the occasion. He didn't own many suits. Why would he have even needed to wear one? He did for tonight, for the first time in a while, which really wasn't on his plan for any time at all. He didn't exactly want to go. It was a date. He didn't want people to get involved with him, romantically or otherwise. Though, he didn't have to pay. He had to admit, that was a nice incentive. Still, he took his wallet - it was better to be cautious than be blindly tricked.

On the other hand, Gauche had a great time trying to force Droite into a dress. No matter which pretty one he suggested, she kept saying 'no', 'that one is awful', 'Gauche, I hope you're joking', 'you might as well dress me in a plastic bag', 'there is no chance that had even touched my wardrobe before'. She could not wear a suit, no matter how many times she had suggested that. She would wear a pretty dress, and that was going to be it.

Droite could have protested all she wanted, but her boisterous partner would have still tried to force her into a damned dress. All of her suits had been confiscated and hidden. She assumed it was the work of Mr Heartland - after all, she just needed a better romantic interest. But Kaito was just fine! She didn't see a damn thing wrong with Kaito, and that was her opinion.

Finally, Gauche showed her the last dress. It was a rather elegant purple one, not too revealing and it showed off her figure quite well. She had conveniently blocked the memory of that one from her mind. Unlike the others, she didn't dismiss it instantly. He took it as a hint that she liked that one, and handed it over. Droite might as well have tried it on. It wasn't a wreck like the others, at least.

Going into another room to get changed, she stared at it. Was she really going to do this? Not just putting on a dress, but going on a date with someone she didn't know and didn't exactly have feelings for. She didn't really want to, but if it shut Gauche up about how cool the guy was, then she would go. Besides, she wasn't paying, which was also a bonus to this. She couldn't help but bring some money with her, which was added to her makeup bag. It didn't take her too long to get her makeup ready. She didn't wear or need to wear an abhorrent amount, anyway. Finally, she was ready to go.

Ryouga was forced into the restaurant and into a seat, and then quickly abandoned by Yuma, who promised everything was sorted and would have been paid for already. God, he was such a nuisance. Finally, he was allowed to remove his blindfold, since he was no longer supervised. In front of him sat...no one. Well, that was anti-climactic. Did he really have to wait?

Gauche dropped Droite off at the restaurant, wished her luck, and made sure she went in and stayed there before driving off. He didn't seem to trust her with this, did he? With a slight roll of her eyes, she walked in. 'He should look unimpressed and like he has an octopus on his head,' the voice of her memories told her. Wonderful. She was about to call Gauche incredibly stupid for his description, but when she saw exactly what he described, well, that was actually kind of disturbing.

Ryouga looked around the restaurant. What kind of person kept another waiting? Yuma was pulling a trick on him Urgh, he should have known. Though, when he was about to leave, and his gaze met the one of a rather attractive woman, that last thought was immediately taken back. Unless she was there for someone else, of course. But no, that thought was also quickly thrown away. She made her way over to him. Had Yuma really set him up with a hot woman? Holy shit. He was useful for once. This was an incredible feat.

Droite sat down in front of him and adjusted her skirt out of slight nerves. Well, ignoring his hair, he was actually kind of attractive. From what Gauche was saying, she had expected a rather special person, the kind that ate glue and had an issue. Even with the hair, he wasn't too bad-looking. This had gotten a lot more interesting for her. He was going to be an asshole though, wasn't he? She could almost taste his bullshit already. Oh well.

"Hello," she said, with the slightest hint of a smile.
"I wasn't lied to, then," Ryouga said. His expression was a lot more impressed than when she had first seen him.
"In what way?" That wasn't the best impression, though.
"I didn't believe my friend when he said you would be attractive." Ryouga elaborated. Oh. Droite couldn't have stopped her face from reddening at the comment.
"Thank you. I wasn't expecting my partner to be wrong," she said. No, she wasn't exactly ace at flirting. The look of confusion on his face wasn't exactly positive. It looked more questioning. "Not that type of partner. I'm talking about my work partner, who made me come here."
"What did you mean by the first comment?" Ryouga didn't sound impressed in the slightest. She had screwed up already.
"He didn't describe you too well other than a 'cool guy'. That was the only positive comment I got," she said. He seemed to understand that.

The date itself wasn't anything special. The typical snooty French waiter took their order with some sort of obviously forced accent. The meal was rather nice, overpriced but nice. The company, however, was even nicer. Funnily enough, the pair connected in a rather nice way. Their personalities worked so well together, as well as they both had a rather bothersome partner, who they did care a lot about no matter how annoying. They shared stories - nothing too personal, of course - and interests. They didn't necessarily share interests, but they were interesting to hear about.

They stayed for a little while longer than for dinner, and longer than dessert still. The conversation was far too interesting to drop it. Instead, they kept on ordering drinks. Non-alcoholic, of course; neither of them had the intent to get drunk on the first date. They stuck to a coffee, and the rest were fruit juices. It was simply too nice to have left just then.

It was only when Droite realised they were the last people, and when Ryouga realised that they were cleaning up, that they realised perhaps it was time to leave. When they tried He got up first, and offered his arm, which was an oddly gentlemanly move for him. She got up as well, and took the offer, linking their arms together.

Since he didn't live too far away apparently, she figured it was appropriate to walk him home, despite it not being the more 'normal' option. The conversation carried on, talking about nothing but it seemed like they were talking about everything. Droite felt intoxicated, without a drop of alcohol having touched her lips. There was something about Ryouga was that intriguing, different even. And she meant that in the least clichéd way possible. He was a bit of a jerk, of course, just like Kaito. But, there was something in his personality that she did like, and wanted more of.

Finally, they arrived at his house. She moved her arm out of his, and instead grabbed his hands. Droite wasn't sure what possessed her to do that, but he lightly squeezed her hands. It had been well-received, then.

"Well then, I should say goodnight," she said.
"Yeah. Goodnight, Droite."
"Goodnight, Ryouga."

Ryouga had lost his mind. Before he could have stopped himself, he pressed his lips against hers. He heard her gasp, but she didn't move away. Instead, she moved her lips carefully with his. Their hands did not unlink as they kissed. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like half an hour had passed. When they did part, they didn't dare to look at each other. She let go of his hands.

"I'll see you again soon, I hope," Droite said, before leaving.

Shit. Ryouga didn't even get her number. He could have asked Yuma for it later. He closed the door and went back inside. In the palm his hand, he felt the crinkle of paper. How had he not noticed it before? The paper had been neatly folded, but was wrinkled, probably from sneaking it into his hand when he was distracted.

'Use it wisely. –Droite' That was what the note read, and written underneath was her phone number and some form of smudge, probably a heart. Yes. He had scored. Well, not in that sense, but he was allowed to feel some sort of pride about this, correct?

He was going to feel that way, anyway.