Author's note: This chapter is somewhat of a filler, yet it contained important information on how things became how they are in the story. Also, since I haven't updated 'Timely Love Stories' for some time (I'm waiting for the new episode, sheesh)...I hope this chapter will suffice for those readers.


Catching Up

Grand Gourmet

7:45 PM

Larry had taken a seat near the front on a bench, waiting for his date to arrive. He had swapped out his grey business suit for a slick black tuxedo. He had arrived precisely at 7:30 PM and had made sure that their table wasn't taken. Now he waited patiently for her to arrive. Besides the obvious reason, Larry was excited to see her again.
However, there was a little feeling of doubt inside of him that she wouldn't be able to make it.

That doubt vanished as soon as Larry saw her car pull up in the valet drop off. The door eased open and Larry stood up from the bench.
When he saw her getting out of her car, he suddenly understood the term of being 'fashionably late'.

She wore a dazzling crimson dress, a matching color headband, her usual facial makeup and hairstyle, and she wore a set of pink pearl earrings.

After she had given the valet her keys to park her car, she turned and saw Larry approaching. Her face immediately lit up with joy at the sight of him.

"Petunia!" the cucumber exclaim with joy as he quickened his pace.

"Larry!" the red hair rhubarb rejoiced as she rushed up to meet him.

When the two met, Larry easily lifted her up and twirled around with her raised. Petunia giggled as Larry set her down carefully.

"I wasn't expecting that." Petunia sighed while batting her eyelashes.

"Well, it has been awhile." Larry reasoned, blushing at the same time. Petunia saw this and did her best to stifle a giggle.

"Yeah, it has." Petunia added contently as she leaned up and kissed Larry's cheek. Larry felt his cheeks began to warm and his heart flutter on the inside.

"Shall we?" Larry asked, somehow managing to keep his cool.

"Of course." Petunia replied, and the two inside the Grand Gourmet.


(…,,,…,,,)

After they were seated at their reserved, private table inside a private sound sealed room, Larry and Petunia placed their orders and passed the time with talk.

"You know, sometimes I miss the Rhubarb Scorpion." Larry remarked with a sly look on his face. Petunia returned his expression with a smirk.

"Well, we all know that Rhubarb Scorpion had given up the superhero life." Petunia added.

"A week later, Petunia Rhubarb quits her job as a reporter to become a professional stylist fashionista that inspires inner beauty," Larry recalled, "and right after she made it to the top, a new superhero by the name of 'Vogue' appears." Petunia thought over the old news for a moment.

"Yep, that's pretty much it." Petunia simply said. The two failed to keep a straight face. Larry picked up his glass of grape juice and took a sip.

"I saw you this morning on TV for the debate." Petunia pointed out. Larry stopped drinking his juice and set the glass down.
He gave Petunia a puzzled look, but he was just trying to hide his embarrassment.

"You did?" was all that Larry could say.

"Yes, I did," Petunia answered and smiled, "did you enjoy your nap?"

"In my defense, I was up late last night." Larry defended himself.

"Speaking of which, I saw you last night on TV, too." Petunia added, referring to the news coverage on LarryBoy.

"That's why I was so sleepy the next day." Larry explained as he picked up his glass of grape juice and gulped it down.

"Is Vicki Cucumber a good reporter?" Petunia wondered.

"Yes," Larry answered with a smirk, "but she wasn't as good as you were." Petunia smiled at the flattery, but something else seem to be bugging her, and Larry could see it.

"Is something wrong?" Larry asked with concern. The last thing he wanted was to upset Petunia.

"I've been watching Vicki on the news lately," Petunia tried to explain, "and she seems to take a lot of interest in LarryBoy."

"Really?" Larry asked in surprised, "I never even noticed."

That remark threw Petunia off and left her confused.

"You…haven't noticed?" Petunia questioned, still a bit baffled as his naivety.

"No, not at all." Larry answered, but suddenly realized something he had noticed, "Although…she does seem to ask me a lot of questions."

Petunia just stared and blinked at Larry, trying to comprehend what he said.

"Oh good, the food is here." Larry stated as the waiter entered the room with a cart of gourmet food. The waiter carefully place their ordered entree down on the table and exited the room with his cart. Petunia was still giving Larry a stunned expression. Finally, right before he started to eat, Larry noticed it.

"What?"

"You meant to tell me that you haven't noticed any of her advances on you?" Petunia asked skeptically. Larry was bewildered at her question.

"She's been advancing on me?" Larry exclaimed as calmly as he could. Petunia almost laughed at his reaction, but she kept calm and maintained her personality. Larry was still trying to take in what Petunia had told him.

"I honestly never knew, Petunia." Larry said apologetically.

"I know," Petunia replied, "I believe you."

The two of them started to eat their food quietly, but then curiosity got the better of one of them.

"How's Junior been doing?" Petunia asked. She waited patiently as Larry swallowed his food and cleared his throat.

"He's been doing great," Larry replied, "he's mostly working on the weekends when he doesn't have school."

"Did Ricochet and S-Cape ever figure out who was the fastest?"

"Surprisingly no; it always ends of in some sort of tie. They even agreed to cheat on a race just to solve who was faster, and they still tied!"

Petunia giggled, and Larry smiled.


"Is the Global Hero Society still trying to recruit you?" Petunia asked as she ate some of her food.

"Not as much as before." Larry told her, "I still can't believe that they managed to put up a world-wide superhero force in so little time."

Just before the events of Dr. Flurry and his Fear-Dar, the 'League of Superheroes' was disbanded.
However, a new superhero force was formed and called the 'Global Super League', a superhero team on a world-wide scale.
Many superheroes joined the Global Super League, wanting to expand the protection and benefit of having multiple superheroes help save everyone from villains and evil-doers, which increased every month for some reason.

In retrospect, it was much like Mr. Taco Fish's suggestion of merging companies: people working together for the better good.

He, or LarryBoy, had declined their offer to pledge him into the Global Super League, and remained to be only the protector of Bumblyburg.
Although Captain Bumble was a part of the Global Super League, he respected LarryBoy's decision to not join; he just wished the Global Super League would stop sending him to ask LarryBoy to join.
The League of Incredible Vegetables was about the only group he had ever joined; he had teamed up with a multitude of heroes in his superhero career though.

"So why exactly did our tomato friend change his name from 'Red Wonder' to 'Thingamabob?" Larry asked, taking a bite out of his ordered food.

"I really don't know," Petunia replied after she swallowed her food, "you should ask him."

"Why me?"

"Cause you two are like best friends!" Petunia answered as if it was obvious. Larry was about to question her answer, but then realized how much he and Thingamabob got along. Deciding not to argue, Larry shrugged and continued to eat his food.

Right before they had finished eating, the waiter came back into the room with two desert menus. The couple both looked at the waiter as he stood still.

"Would you two care for desert?" the waiter asked them.

"Sure, why not?" Larry asked rhetorically as the waiter gave him the menu. The waiter offered the second menu to Petunia.

"No thanks." Petunia politely declined.

"I'll take a slice of the fudge cake." Larry immediately decided and gave the waiter back the menu.

"Of course, sir." the waiter said and left the room. Petunia giggled at Larry's hungry appetite. Larry gave a shy grin.

"How's Vogue doing?" Larry asked as he pushed his finished entree aside.

"She's doing pretty good," Petunia replied, flicking her stinger-looking ponytail back, "last time I heard, she discovered two new fashionable outfits to her super suit."

Before Larry could comment, the waiter entered and served a slice of fudge cake to Larry.

"Thanks waiter!" Larry called back as the waiter left the private room. Picking up his fork, Larry began to eat away at the cake slice. Petunia looked down to find her wallet in her pink purse. When she glanced up, Petunia almost laughed at the sight. Larry had already devoured half of the cake on the platter, and he had chocolate smeared over his upper lip. It made it look like he had a moustache.

"You sure you don't want any cake?" Larry asked, eating another section of the slice with his fork.

"No I'm good." Petunia snickered. Larry immediately stopped eating and gave a funny look at Petunia.

"What?" Larry asked.

"You got a moustache." Petunia giggled. Larry realized that he had a smudge of chocolate on his upper lip.

"Well whadya know…" Larry remarked.

"Aren't you gonna wipe it off?" Petunia asked.

"I was actually thinking of growing out a moustache." Larry confessed with a smile and a moustache. Immediately, Petunia grabbed a napkin and leaned over the table in attempt to wipe the chocolate off Larry's face. Larry, deciding to have fun, was doing his best to avoid her napkin.

"Hold still!" Petunia instructed.

"Nu-uh." Larry replied and dodged another wipe. After a couple of attempts, Petunia carefully timed the next one, and managed to wipe the chocolate clean off.

"Yes!" Petunia exclaimed triumphantly.

"Darn." Larry chuckled. Suddenly remembering that it was just chocolate, Larry took another bite of the chocolate cake slice. Petunia just stared at him in disbelief, then glanced at the remaining chocolate cake slice, and then back at Larry, except this time, she had a devious grin on her face.

"No more cake for you." Petunia declared coyly as she pulled the plate with slice of cake away from Larry.

"No!" Larry laughed and went for the cake slice with his fork.


(..,,..,,)

AFTER DINNER…

"That was fun." Petunia remarked as they exited the Grand Gourmet. The valet was already rushing off to fetch Petunia's car.

"Yeah, it was." Larry agreed. The two were now waiting on the curb for Petunia's car to drive up.

"You sure you don't need a ride?" Petunia asked.

"I'm sure," Larry answered, "I'll call a cab."

As the two waited in silence for Petunia's car to arrive, the night started to tick away. They were tired, but they both had a common desire in mind: they didn't want their time together to end just yet.

"Um, Petunia?"

"Yes?"

"Are you gonna be sticking around Bumblyburg awhile?"

"As a matter of fact, yes I will."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I have to help set up for the fashion show in Bumblyburg next week."

Just before Larry could ask something else, Petunia's car pulled up, and the valet driver handed Petunia the keys.
Larry went around to the other side to open the door for Petunia.

"Thank you." Petunia said kindly as she was about to get into her car. Larry realized that this might be the last chance he had to ask the question.

"Petunia?"

Petunia leaned against her car's frame and turned to Larry.

"When do ya think we can do this again sometime?"

Petunia thought over it for a moment before she gave her answer.

"Let's see how this week goes," Petunia suggested, "if we are both not busy a day, we can try for that."

"Ok." Larry replied with relief. Petunia noticed his relief and leaned closer to him.

"Don't worry Larry," she assured him, "it won't be long."

"I'll be waiting nonetheless." Larry stated gallantly. Petunia giggled, and Larry smiled. Petunia kissed Larry's nose and got into her car. Larry blushed as he stood back from the vehicle. Petunia rolled down the window as she started the car.

"Good night Larry." Petunia sighed, right before she drove off.

"You too Petunia!" Larry called back; he wasn't sure if she heard him or not.

Returning his attention at the matter at hand, Larry started to search for taxi to take him back to the LarryManor.

TO BE CONTINUED…


Author's note: So how'd I do with this chapter? I think I covered most of the backstory. For those who don't know, this story is tied in with one of my 'Timely Love Stories' chapters regarding LarryBoy.

Some of you might be wondering where is all the action…

Well, it already happen.

Confused? The next chapter will explain...stay tuned!