Chuck spent the first part of the day with his head in the clouds. It was like every burden had suddenly lifted from him.
Sarah wants to have a date with me. Me!
He replayed their kisses in his mind over and over again. He wished he could re-do the first kiss and not faint, but the other kisses had more than made up for his insecurity.
He bounced out of bed and dressed in a hurry - she'd be outside with Bunny soon! Maybe he could see her before her work!
She was already outside, encouraging Bunny to do his thing when he walked out of the apartment doors. He stood and watched her as she played with him, totally engrossed in her beauty.
"Chuck!" she called, waving. She had a grin on her face and once again Chuck was blown away by her sheer beauty.
"Hi!" he said dumbly. He seriously couldn't think of a thing to say.
"I didn't think I'd see you this morning," she said, blushing as they approached each other, standing about a foot apart.
He looked down at his feet, then up at her face. He was blushing too, "I wanted to see you. Even if it was only for a few minutes before your work. I thought maybe I'd go for a jog now. I have far too much energy."
"I'm really looking forward to seeing you tonight," Sarah reached for Chuck's hand, holding it gently, "I'm excited. It's weird because we've spent lots of time together. But this is different, isn't it?"
He gazed down into her eyes, their bodies inching closer, "I didn't sleep last night. I keep thinking it's a dream."
She pushed herself up on her tippy toes, kissing him very gently, "It's not a dream, Chuck. I really like you...and I really want this date."
He blushed, kissing her back. It was a short kiss that ended far too soon for him as she went back to flat feet. Bunny was done his business and was staring at them curiously.
Sarah laughed as he pulled on his leash to go back to the apartment.
"I guess I have to go," she said, their fingers still outstretched to each other as Bunny starting pulling Sarah for the door.
"I'll see you tonight, Sarah," he smiled as she disappeared into the building, sighing heavily when he realized several minutes later that he was still staring at the door and she'd been gone for 5 minutes.
Shaking his head, he made himself turn around and go on a jog. In reality, he sprinted the entire time he was gone.
Sarah was at work now and Chuck realized he should be spending the time alone to prepare for the date. He cocked his head.
"Jolly, I have no clue what to do on a date!"
The kitten mewed at him.
"Seriously, Jolly. Help me out here...I have no clue what to do. I want it to be perfect."
Jolly pawed at his empty food plate, meowing as he pressed up against Chuck's outstretched fingers.
"You're not a very good help here, Jolly. We're going to have to work on your advice-giving skills."
He sighed, wondering who else he could ask for advice.
He heard the key in the apartment lock, indicating Tyler was home.
Jolly mewed again.
"Really, Jolly? Ask Tyler? He's going to laugh at me and tell me I'm stupid because I honestly don't know what to do. Come up with another plan."
Jolly rubbed up against Chuck's outstretched hand and purred.
"Ok fine. You're right, little buddy. I suppose I don't have a ton of options."
It wasn't the best option, but Tyler might be able to tell him about dating if he asked the right way. After all, he'd just gotten home from an entire night with Anna. He nodded at Jolly, who, in Chuck's mind, had agreed with Chuck's plan to not ask Tyler directly, but get information through indirect questioning.
Getting off of the couch, he went to meet his roommate and welcome him home from his trip. Operational Learn-to-date was a go.
Chuck followed as Tyler took his overnight bag into his room and dropped it on the bed, dumping the contents onto the bedspread.
He had walked in the door about 10 minutes ago, immediately annoyed by the curly-haired man that stared at him but offered no words of explanation. He simply stared.
Tyler looked at Chuck quickly, then ignored him, continuing with his unpacking.
Chuck kept staring.
"Why are you in my room, Moron?" Tyler asked finally.
"I guess I'd like to know how your date went," Chuck said, looking at the floor.
"You're lying," Tyler said right away, noting that Chuck wouldn't look at him, "But for the record, it went fine."
Tyler and Anna had decided to keep up their dating facade anyway, despite the tension between them. It was a good cover to get away if they needed to do some uninterrupted and unquestioned investigations.
He put some of the clean clothes back in his dresser, chucking the dirty ones in the laundry basket…that's right – they would need to do laundry before long. He couldn't wait to show Chuck that chore. Everything would surely come out as pink in technicolor. Maybe it was a chore Tyler should take on himself.
"Wanna tell me what you're lying about?" Tyler asked after a minute, "Because I can tell by the way you're still acting like a dufus that you didn't just wanna know how my date went."
Chuck visibly gulped.
"Did something happen last night?" Tyler pushed.
"No," Chuck said slowly, "Nothing bad."
It wasn't a lie! What happened was far from bad!
"Then what do you want?"
Chuck shuffled his feet back and forth, searching for a way to pose his question without telling Tyler about the date. The last thing he needed was to be teased.
"What's the difference between hanging out and a date?"
Tyler stared at him, trying to pinpoint Chuck's nervous behavior, "Hanging out is strictly between friends and a date implies special feelings or the intent to get to know someone better with the purposes of forming a relationship…why?"
"No reason," Chuck said.
He shuffled his feet again, then stooped to pick up a dime he found on the floor.
"Why are you still here, Dipshit?"
"I missed you!" Chuck said sarcastically.
Tyler's eyebrows lifted. Since when did Chuck know how to use sarcasm?
"So…" Chuck asked casually, both fists still in his pockets, "Do you do anything special for a date? Like dress up or buy gifts or something?"
Tyler put down the towel he'd grabbed for a shower.
"What's the deal?"
Chuck stared at him, his mind racing, "I'm just curious what happened between you and Anna last night?"
It didn't even sound like a convincing excuse to Chuck.
"How is that your business?" Tyler asked, watching Chuck.
"I'm curious! I need to know how human dating works."
"Why do you need to know that?" Tyler was crossing the room, watching Chuck out of the corner of his eye.
"No reason."
"What have you done now?" Tyler demanded.
"Nothing."
"Chuck!" Tyler's voice raised, "What are you up to?"
Chuck spun on his heel and bolted out the door. Too much pressure! RETREAT!
Tyler thundered down the hall after him.
"CHUCK! You need to explain yourself RIGHT NOW!"
Chuck ran into the living room, heading for the balcony.
"You can't run away this way, you Moron!" Tyler grabbed his shirt, dragging him back in, "What we're going to do, jump off the balcony?"
He tossed Chuck onto the couch.
"Tell me what's going on!"
"I'm going on a date with Sarah!" Chuck yelled.
Tyler was torn between being angry and laughing his head off.
"You're what?"
"After her work tonight," Chuck told him, "I'm picking her up. We're going for dinner. I guess I just want to know what's expected on a date. How do I act differently? What makes it a date instead of a regular hang-out?"
Tyler sat down on the couch beside him, completely shocked.
We were gone for 24 hours! 24 hours!
"Boy, I can't leave you unsupervised for a minute, can I?" Tyler shook his head.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You can't date Sarah, Bonehead," Tyler shook a finger at him, "You are an Angel who took a mission to protect her and help her find happiness. You don't hit on your assignments!" he paused, his eyes widening, "You didn't do anything to her, did you? Tell me you didn't do anything to her!"
"We kissed," Chuck admitted shyly.
Tyler stared at him, mortified, "My God – what were you thinking? You are so stupid! Seriously, really flippin' stupid!"
"I was thinking that I like her and she likes me!" Chuck yelled, getting off the couch, "For the first time in my life, someone actually likes me for me! She respects me and she cares about what I think and how I feel about things! She thinks I'm funny and smart and easy to be with! We like each other – it's not just me! So, if the mission is to make her happy and I make her happy, WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!"
Tyler stared at him; his mouth dropped open in shock.
"And another thing!" Chuck yelled, whacking over the CD stand with an angry fist, "I've about had enough of you calling me stupid and moron all the time! Try looking in the mirror…because while I've been busting my butt trying to find a way for those girls to get some peace in their lives, you've been nothing but a sarcastic assholish bastard! So, you tell me…WHO'S THE MORON HERE?!"
Tyler was shell-shocked. He honestly, truly did not know what to say. Chuck was stooped overtop of Tyler's body with a fist in his face. He was seething mad, his breath coming in short, angry bursts. A vein popped out on his forehead. Since when does Chuck challenge authority, yet alone yell at them…in their face? And where in the heck did, he learn that kind of language?
Tyler started to laugh. At first it was a chuckle, then an all-out, roaring laugh.
Chuck stood back, confused at the reaction. Anger still boiled through his veins.
"Jinx Angel," Tyler said in a low, dangerous voice, "You have crossed the line."
Tyler lunged at him, tackling Chuck to the ground with a fist to his face. Chuck retaliated by kicking up into Tyler's stomach, throwing him backward. Tyler didn't stay still long, launching himself on top of Chuck with another punch to his head. They rolled back and forth on the ground, punching, hitting, and Chuck even managed to bite Tyler once.
"How can you be so idiotic?" Tyler yelled, grabbing one of Chuck's leg and twisting it in the wrong direction.
Chuck yelped, then rounded his leg so it wasn't awkward anymore. He slammed his fist down on Tyler's back, earning a howl of pain.
"How can you be such a selfish jerk?" he shot back.
"Well, well, well," a voice said from toward the kitchen, "Good to know you boys are getting along well."
Tyler and Chuck stopped mid-fight, Tyler's hands in the midst of pulling Chuck's hair, Chuck with his fist raised to Tyler's face. They both turned…and froze.
She was imposing. Her menacing eyebrows arched at them. She wore shiny metal armour with the iron-heart Kreuz insignia on it.
All of Heaven knew of her fearsome reputation as an enforcer and bringer of justice.
This…was the great Contessa.