Ch 2- A little taste

After that thrilling game of tag with the beautiful blonde in the car, Ataru opened the door of his home and walked inside. He didn't see or hear Lum anywhere so he figured she must be in his room. After checking (thoroughly) he surmised that she was in her UFO. He quickly dismissed the thought, trying to convince himself that he didn't care. He tried to forget about it while reading manga but the thought of Lum being upset caused guilt to eat away at his stomach. He got up quickly and started to pace, thinking hard. *Maybe she just got lost* No, she knows these streets by now *Maybe she got kidnapped (again)* That REALLY worried him. *No, she can handle herself.* His thoughts got wilder and wilder until he was really panicking. *She was cheating on him, she was lying in the gutter somewhere, she was brainwashed into thinking she hated him.* He was about to dash down the steps and out the door and search for her when he heard the door creak open. Lum fluttered in quietly, about to head upstairs when her Darling grabbed her hands tightly. Everything was silent. She waited with bated breath for his words. Ataru's brain was in overdrive. He wanted to hug her to his chest and tell her how glad he was that she was alright but instead he had grabbed her hands and opened his big mouth.

"Lum! Where have you been?" He shouted.

Lum was taken aback. She hadn't expected him to be angry. She came home later than him lots of times before and he'd always acted with indifference.

"I just stopped by a shop that looked interesting. You ran after that other woman so fast that I needed something to distract me." Her face darkened and yet she was happy that he cared.

Ataru felt the familiar hot, sticky feeling of guilty creep once again into his stomach as he saw her look so upset. He loosened his grip on her hands but did not let go.

"It's no big deal, Lum. Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you." He apologized, while looking away. Lum just smiled.

Ataru suddenly realized that Lum had something in her hand. He turned her hand over and opened her palm, picking up the marble-like object from the young woman's hand. Lum was so taken with having her hand caressed by her Darling that she hadn't realized he had taken her sweet.

"Lum, is this candy?" He asked examining it closely. He sniffed it and was suddenly overcome with a sense of calm. It smelled like tobasco and faintly of a shampoo that he couldn't quite place. It was an intoxicating smell. He was tempted to try it but suspicion held him back. He saw what strange things could happen with Lum's weird gadgets and his gut was telling him to forget this little candy-thing.

Lum, sensing his hesitation, said quickly,

"Oh, Darling, this is a….um…a seed, from my planet. I was feeling a little down so I thought growing a familiar plant would cheer me up. Just seeing this seed makes me happy." She finished with a smile. *Technically, this candy might just be the seed that helps your feelings for me grow.* She thought hopefully.

This answer seemed to satisfy her Darling. He handed back the candy and his expression turned incredibly soft, at least for him. Lum's heart melted.

"Lum, I didn't know you felt like that." He said. Lum thought he looked like a prince. She swooned and gave her darling a quick hug before flitting upstairs. Ataru followed and he went to pick up his manga but Lum got to it first.

"Darling, remember our 1st date? Do you think we could go on another one? I had so much fun last time." She asked timidly.

Ataru was surprised and yet he was feeling really happy. He felt so many different feelings on their first date. He was surprised at how she had changed for him to fit his demands, jealous at all the boys ogling her, and at the end he felt a surge of emotion so great and yet he didn't know what to call it. He was afraid of it and yet he felt warm when she was around.

"Yeah, I guess, but you've gotta dress like a normal person again." He said casually, as if he wasn't looking forward to it.

"You're the best!" She said it with such glee and affection that Ataru felt his heart skip a beat when she hugged him again.

They agreed to make the date on Sunday.

Lum was bursting in her desk. *Only two more days* She thought. She wanted everything to be perfect. She planned to go shopping for a new outfit after school and think of what to do on their date. She had so many ideas but she was also worried that Darling wouldn't have much fun. She shook her head in an attempt to dispel her thoughts. *Darling had fun last time so I'm sure he'll have fun this time.* the bell rang, surprising Lum out of her thoughts. She grabbed her school bag and zipped out the door, oblivious to the pair of eyes that followed her.

The first store she went to sold beautiful, though expensive, articles of clothing. She browsed the isles and couldn't find anything that caught her interest. She didn't think she'd buy anything anyway with those prices. She went to the next store and finally decided on a white, simple dress. It had spaghetti straps and the hem rose dangerously mid-thigh. It was decorated with black lace around the hem. She knew it'd go perfectly with a pair of simple black flats. She figured she'd go home until she found herself standing in front of a lingerie store. She walked in and saw a pair of lacy panties that caused her to stop. They were skimpy, tiny, slightly see-through, and a pale blue color that reminded her of a spring sky. They were embroidered with delicate flowers. She'd never worn anything like them in her life and the thought of that intrigued her. The matching bra had the very same appealing design on the cups as the panties. They made her think of how great the set would look on her. She didn't think she had the courage to purchase such a beautiful set of underwear, much less wear them. They seemed so…adult. The next thing she knew she was walking home with a small bag in her hand that said Delicate on it. She kept looking down at it and smiling. She was feeling bold, empowered, and she was bursting with excitement for their date.

Megane watched silently as Lum walked away from the lingerie store. He held his nose for fear of a geyser to shoot out of his nostrils. His mind raced with all the possibilities of what the fair Lum could have purchased at such a risqué store. In his mind's eye, Lum walked into his bedroom as he was sprawled across his bed. The beautiful Lum stalked toward him, clad in a sheer set of black undergarments that were so unlike her tiger striped bikini. Megane had always thought the color black suited Lum, although he thought any color suited her. She was utterly perfect in his eyes. She leaned down to kiss him when he was shaken out of his thoughts by a woman's shrill scream. "Pervert! There's a pervert in the bushes!" He realized with shock that she seemed to be referring to him. He hightailed it out of there, grateful to himself that he had yet another fantasy to remember later.

Lum flipped through magazines in her UFO, pouting slightly as she tried to decide which hairstyle to use. She'd done the same thing on their first date because she couldn't quite figure out how to cover her horns. She wanted something fresh but also something that would suit her. She paused on one picture, her fingers tracing the model's beautiful golden locks and sighed. She caressed her own turquoise hair and wondered if Darling liked blondes better. Maybe she didn't need some kind of magic candy to spice up her life with Darling. Maybe she just needed to change her image. She played with the thought before shoving it away with all her other pathetic self-pity thoughts. She was Lum Invader and she didn't need to change. Darling would come to love her for her and not for her hair color. She continued to flip through the magazine, scanning each model's hair before picking one that she thought would work. With that done she got up and walked to her small desk and picked up the candy she'd set there. She looked at it closely, watching as it caught the light and seemed to calm down her pitter-pattering heart. It was such a beautiful color and it smelled divine. It smelled sweet and yet it was musky at the same time. She felt content with it in her palm. She wondered…..she stuck out her tongue and licked it. Flavor like none other hit her taste buds. It was sweet, sour, spicy and tangy and she detected a hint of heat that seemed to weigh her tongue down a bit. She pulled her head back from the candy and replaced the small sphere back onto her desk, gazing reproachfully at it. *That was weird* she thought. It hadn't been unpleasant but it'd been an intense feeling. She wanted to try it again but she wanted to save it for Sunday. *I wonder if it did anything?* She walked into her bathroom and stared at her reflection and upon deciding she looked the same, sighed in disappointment. It was just a small taste so maybe the effects wore off before she could see anything.

Lum looked at the clock and noticed it was about time for dinner with Darling and his parents so she flitted out the door.

Ataru gazed out his window, waiting for Lum. It was about time for dinner and she was still in her UFO. She wasn't going to stay there until their date was she? It's not like he cared but he liked hearing her say good morning when he woke up. It didn't matter to him. He didn't like it at all, watching her smile at him brightly all the way to school. Nope. He didn't care one bit. He brightened a bit when he saw her making her way down to his room. He gasped when he saw her. She seemed to sparkle and when she smiled at him, his eyed widened. She was just smiling at him but it felt like he'd won the lottery. His heart was beating like crazy. She landed gracefully and he felt himself calm down a bit. What was that about? He was probably just hungry. He forced his expression from awestruck to aloof when she gave him a curious look.

"Darling, are you alright? You seemed miles away for a minute." Curiosity gave way to concern as she peered into his face.

"It's nothing Lum. I'm just hungry and you took longer than usual. Let's get downstairs, I'm starving." He started toward the stairs. Lum followed, smiling.

Author's Note:

Sorry this chapter was so short! I didn't want to jump into the date quite yet. This chapter was just a little peak at what the mysterious candy's effects are to be. I'm pretty excited for the next chapter. I'm still kind of feeling out how I want the story to go so I rated it M just in case. I'm also super sorry that it took me so long to update! I had thing big research paper due and it was over something I cared 0% about. Anyway, I love you guys and please keep reviewing! I wanna hear more opinions! What do you think of the candy idea? What do you think will happen to these two? THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME! Hehe :)