.
.
Chiyuki is lying on the couch, flipping through a magazine, when Decim makes the announcement:
"My co-worker has asked me to meet with his cousin," Decim says. "She is here for the weekend and needs someone familiar with the area to accompany her."
"That sounds like fun," Chiyuki says. She flips through her magazine, absently. "What are you going to do?"
"My co-worker recommended that I take her around town, have a meal with her and watch a movie," Decim says. Chiyuki lowers the magazine and frowns.
"That sounds like a date," Chiyuki says.
"Unlikely," Decim says. "My co-worker is merely too busy to spend time with his cousin this weekend, so he required my assistance."
"...I see," Chiyuki says, doubtfully. "When are you two planning to go out?"
"Saturday afternoon," Decim says, and he looks so guileless and sweet Chiyuki decides that yelling at him would be like yelling at a puppy, pointless and unproductive, so she just shrugs and goes back to her magazine.
"Huh. Well don't stay out too late then," Chiyuki says.
Decim nods, solemnly.
"We will adhere to a strict schedule."
xXx
.
It's Saturday afternoon and Decim is getting ready for his not-a-date date. He has the same amount of sex appeal as a block of wood, and Chiyuki feels almost a little bit sorry for him, watching him pull on another boring white shirt and another drab sweater vest. If this girl is gonna go on a date with him, Chiyuki thinks, she might as well provide her with a little bit of eye candy.
"Wear this," Chiyuki says, and she hands him another shirt. "You look nicer in this. And don't wear the sweater vest, it's too plain."
"Thank you very much," he says, and he switches out the shirt.
She sprawls back on the bed while Decim putters around the bedroom. This poor girl, Chiyuki thinks. His hair is terrible. He's socially awkward and too serious and has no charisma whatsoever.
She's going to be disappointed, Chiyuki thinks, and she's silently thankful that Decim is too dense for hurt feelings. He wouldn't even notice he was being rejected even if the girl would tell him to his face.
Poor Decim, Chiyuki thinks. She wonders how far she should let this go.
"I will be back," Decim says. He kisses her goodbye (before his date! Chiyuki thinks, and facepalms, inwardly) and waves at her as he goes out the door.
It doesn't take her long before she decides to follow him. It's for his own good, and also in part to satisfy her curiosity. What kind of desperate mess would want to go out with that? she thinks, as Decim stares slack-jawed at a blinking traffic light, standing a little too long before realizing he's supposed to cross. Which, admittedly, is pretty adorable in a Decim sort of way, except that Chiyuki knows him already, it's unlikely that anyone else would see the appeal.
This is going to be a trainwreck, Chiyuki thinks, and she decides that she really ought to watch.
xXx
.
The girl is sitting on a park bench, fiddling with her purse and looking around, nervously, when Decim walks toward her.
"I'm terribly sorry, did you wait very long?" Decim says, and the girl smiles and shakes her head.
What is this, some kind of romantic comedy? Chiyuki thinks, and facepalms to herself.
"Shall we proceed?" Decim says. The girl smiles again and they walk down the road.
xXx
.
At first, it's just the usual pleasantries, Decim nodding solemnly while the girl makes polite conversation. But then Decim stops walking; Chiyuki notices he is distracted by something across the street.
There is a dog in a yard, chasing its tail. Well, he would be curious about that, Chiyuki thinks, and thinks of all the times they've gone walking together only for Decim to inexplicably become distracted by a blinking sign or a squirrel or even a paper bag rolling in the street, and she's fully expecting the poor girl to be weirded out by Decim's behavior when she turns around and looks back at her:
The girl is blushing, watching him.
What the hell?
"You're very thoughtful, aren't you?" the girl says, and Chiyuki can see it: yellow slants of light, a slight breeze in his hair. Pale blue eyes looking out into the horizon, stoically.
Except that he's looking at a dog, the dog is chasing its tail, and only when the dog gives up and lies down again that Decim turns his gaze toward the girl.
"I'm sorry? You were saying?" Decim says, and his voice is so low and sonorous Chiyuki can see the girl practically melting in her shoes.
What's with this girl? Chiyuki thinks, and she continues to follow them.
They go to the movies. It's a scary one, the girl jumping and clutching Decim at every scene. Decim for his part just sits there stoically and stone-faced. Chiyuki hides in the back of the theater, frowning into a tub of popcorn.
They sit at a cafe. Decim listens politely while the girl tells him about herself. What starts as the usual getting-to-know-you talk devolves into marked oversharing, and Chiyuki cringes a little as Decim makes a simple observation that evidently was really insightful.
"No one has ever gotten that about me before," the girl says, awestruck, (nevermind that Decim used to be an arbiter, that sort of thing was part of his job).
Decim smiles at her. He has a very nice smile. It pisses Chiyuki off.
"You know," the girl says, and she leans close. "I think my cousin was right. I think I really like you."
"I am glad," Decim says, and she leans in for a kiss. Chiyuki jumps up, pushing through the tables.
"Hey!" Chiyuki says, and the girl startles.
"Oh, Chiyuki-san, there you are," Decim says. "I was wondering when you were going to join us."
"I- wait, what?" Chiyuki says.
"I noticed you following us a few hours earlier. I was expecting you to join us sooner."
"Decim," the girl leans toward him possessively. "Who's your friend?"
And she slips her hand on top of his.
"I'm the mother of his child!" Chiyuki says, and she snatches Decim's hand away from hers. The girl's eyes widen.
"Oh my god. Decim, is this true?"
"Yes," Decim says. "She is the mother of my child."
And she slaps Decim across the face.
Decim has probably never been slapped before. He looks stunned and confused and Chiyuki feels a little bad for him, the side of his cheek reddening where he was struck.
"How could you? She's pregnant!" she says. She's spitting acid, yelling in his face. "How could you sneak out on her like that? What kind of horrible person are you?!"
"But Chiyuki-san knew..." Decim looks hurt and confused. "I told her about our meeting earlier."
"Wait, you knew?" the girl whips around to Chiyuki angrily. "What is this, some sort of game for you two?
You're sick! You're both sick! I can't believe you led me on like this!"
"Why are you angry?" Decim says, but the girl throws on her purse and storms out.
xXx
.
The table is a mess. There are upturned glasses and water dripping down the tablecloth. Decim looks like a frazzled mess and the people in the cafe are staring.
"I told you it was a date," Chiyuki says.