"Dios Mio, I ran away from home and was abducted by asshole aliens!" Eduardo growled inside in his room, tossing his newly purchased soccer ball up towards the ceiling, "And I can't ask out a pretty girl! Que pasa conmigo?"

The soccer ball dropped into his chest with soft thump and he let out a long, shaky sigh, running a hand through his thick hair. This was simply embarrassing. He'd spent two months with her now - learning her basic body language, what made her smile and laugh, when it was time to back off a particular conversation, so on and so forth. He knew her and she knew him and he had a hunch that she reciprocated he's not-so-subtle affections. But why couldn't he just go and fess up? Rejection was always a threat, but he'd be turned down before by girls before. Quite a few had agreed, however. And he'd never been this nervous about dating previously.

Maybe it had to do with the language barrier. Asami was learning English through a very competent tutor handpicked by Luthor himself, yet there was still much progress to be made before she could hold a steady conversation with the other three. Or maybe it had to do with threatening the dynamic of the group - they were all friends. What would happen if tried to step up and date their only female companion? Would Tye and Virgil be jealous? Angry? Worried? Sure, Virgil talked about a girl named Frieda often and Tye always had stories to share about someone called Brenda, but were they just friends or something more?

"Gah, why bother?" Ed groaned, turning over and sighing yet again into his fluffy red pillow. There was no point in thinking this over if he didn't try in the first place. And he was sure if he didn't ask, lingering regrets would curl into his shoulders and sink into his chest, fantasies of any sort with the wistful, kind girl staying locked inside his head.

"That's it," he said as he hurled himself off his bed. She was likely in her room or the kitchen reading while Tye and Virgil were off in the gym practicing their techniques (Luthor said the room was only big enough for two of them at a time, so they would each pair off with someone else day to day). It was the perfect time to talk her about a date without the hoots and jeers of his fellow compadres.

He whisked his door open, taking a deep breath before entering the hallway -

And smack dab into a damp Asami.

"Ed?" she asked, tilting her head and letting her wet black hair splay onto her shoulders, "You go somewhere?"

Mierda, she's only wearing a towel, Eduardo tried to keep his resolve, suppressing the oncoming panic rising in his throat. He'd seen scantily clad women before, exposing more skin than what was currently presented before him. This was no different...except those were showgirls and Asami was his friend and he liked her, so of course his eyes wanted to flicker towards the edge of the towel where the top of her breasts were visible but wow, that would not go over well if she caught him staring and now the awkward silence was coming, so say something, say something, say something -

"Y-you look pretty like that!" he practically yelled, wishing he had it in him to teleport out of the apartment and go on a skateboard binge for a few hours.

"Pretty?" Asami grinned, her eyes glazing over in earnest affection, "Think I pretty?"

Eduardo could only nod, realizing the situation couldn't get anymore awkward. So what the hell, he'd give it a shot, "So pretty in fact, I was hoping...um...you - me - go out? Like a...date?"

"You...me...out?" Asami crossed her arms, cupping a hand against her chin. One finger tapped her cheek thoughtfully and she directed her eyes towards the ceiling, "Date?"

Oh crap, she actually knew what it meant, "U-uh, yeah. If you want."

He was surprised when her lips blossomed into a full smile, the brightest one he'd been graced with yet. She nodded her head and gave him a quick thumbs up before moving past him to her room, "Okay! Out! In hour!"

"Wait, we're going to go today?" he gulped, a fresh wave of nerves prickling at his skin.

"Hai," she replied, opening the door to her room, "I think...about Ed...mmm, itsumo. Always."

And with a growing blush and a wave of her hand, Asami clicked the door shut, leaving the Argentinian in a happy, anxious daze until he realized:

Carajo, do I have anything clean to wear?