Ryo can't quite believe he's going on a date with Alice.

Prompt request from Australian Weeb: "First Date".


As soon as the Totsuki Train made a stop at the capital of Hokkaido, Sapporo, Alice darted off like a bee towards the lights display, dragging Ryo along, of course.

"I've always wanted to come here, but we haven't had time since we moved to Japan!" Alice said, pointing to the sparkly evening lights of various designs, reflecting colored lights at the snowy town park.

Ryo gave a quick glance back to the rest of their schoolmates. The rest of the 'rebel group' students were starting to scatter into their own pairs as well, and seemed to not even notice how Alice had dragged him off already. He doubted that they'd look for them or worry about them. The natural assumption would be for them to be together.

On a date, which is what the other students almost always assumed, Ryo thought.

Alice clung onto Ryo's arm the entire time as they strolled along the park. She was always the touchy type. She would even link arms with Akira sometimes without even blinking, much to Ryo's annoyance. And speaking of Akira, Ryo thought he hadn't seen the smug spice-loving ponytail pretty boy in a while-

"We never did get to go on that date, did we?" Alice suddenly said, and Ryo was startled. "Things just got so crazy all of a sudden!"

"...A date, huh?" Ryo recalled the time Alice asked him out on a date, and the days they spent thinking of what to do for one-but before they knew it, Azami steamrolled over all those plans with the Central takeover, then that battle for the Cutting Edge club, and then these exams. "Yeah," Ryo said. "Screw Central."

Alice giggled a bit. "Screw them indeed. But now that we're here in Sapporo, we should go on a date!"

"...Right now, miss?"

"We're already here, so we might as well!" Alice said. "It'd be a waste not to."

It was just like Alice to make such declarations on the fly, Ryo thought. The way she did a lot of things on a whim made her hard to take seriously a lot of times. But he decided to humor her. "Alright then, miss."

It seemed like Alice barely heard him, since she suddenly pointed to an attractive lights display in the shape of some snowflakes. "That is so cute! Ryo, take a picture of me!"

Ah, classic Alice. Even in the middle of a war against Central, she needed her pictures taken.

She handed her phone to Ryo, and posed with the light display. He quickly snapped a few photos of her, making sure she looked cute, as usual.

She went up to him again, but instead of taking her phone, she tugged on Ryo's arm.

"We should take one together!" she told him.

He was confused. "What?"

"Let's take a selfie together, Ryo!"

"Oh."

With all the trips and places they've been to, Alice rarely had her photo taken with him. It was as if, as an aide, he was always simply the one behind the scenes-the one taking the pictures. He didn't really mind, as he found no need for his pictures anyway, and even less need to post them. A part of him found it particularly vain.

Alice pulled him over to a picturesque spot by the lights display, linking her arms with his.

"Wait, miss, I'm not sure I-"

He wasn't used to taking his own photos or having his own photos taken. Sure, he had photos together with Alice from events, or ones her parents took when they were younger, but a selfie...?

"Don't you want a picture?" Alice asked, sounding somewhat concerned, as if she sensed the hesitation in him.

Shit. Don't give me that disappointed look. "It's not that, miss. Just... Not used to this. I don't really take selfies."

Alice giggled, then taking her phone and tapping a few keys, as if showing Ryo how to do it. She went all out, even choosing a snowflake filter that was way too cute for Ryo's tastes. She turned on the self-timer, and pulled Ryo in close to her to take a picture.

"Ryo! You should smile a bit more," Alice pouted, as she looked at the photo.

"I look ridiculous when I smile."

"As long as you don't bare your fangs and look like you're about to eat me alive, you're all good," Alice said. "Now, let's take another one!"

Eventually she was satisfied, humming as she walked on while playing with filters on her phone. Ryo just followed along, still a little perplexed.

This is the sort of cheesy shit couples do, right...?

Are we actually dating?


Their next stop took them to a soft-serve ice cream stand in the park, which Alice definitely needed to try. They went on along to order and Alice got hers first, a milk-flavored ice cream cone as white as her hair.

"Mmm! It's so good!" Alice had a child-like smile, eyes almost sparkling at her ice cream. "Hokkaido is known for their dairy products, so ice cream does make the count."

Ryo just walked off from the ice cream stand, and sat with her on a park bench she had claimed, his own chocolate soft serve in his hand. He was about to take a bite, until he felt a little tug at his sleeve.

"Ryooo..." Alice was looking up at him with a little pout, and a pleading look in her eyes.

Ryo knew that look-one of Alice's secret weapons, one that worked so effectively on her dad whenever she wanted something. It was just too darn cute, so how do you say no to that?

"...Every single time, miss," Ryo sighed, but not really in annoyance. He knew what she wanted. He offered her his ice cream.

"Yay!" Alice bit into his chocolate ice cream. Whenever they were outside and ordered different meals, Alice always swiped some from him. "It's good! Here, try some of mine too."

She offered her milk ice cream cone, and likewise Ryo had a taste. She was right. The milk flavor was so rich.

Eating together and sharing food like this...

They did it almost daily, that it just grew to be what was expected.

But this is what couples do, right?

They kept eating ice cream together for a while, with Alice in good spirits, humming or pointing to the displays, her feet swaying underneath her.

Ryo reached down to her hand that was idly on the bench, and held her hand in his.

He felt her tense up, as if startled, but she did not pull away. He couldn't tell if it was the snow, or the cold ice cream, but he swore he saw her cheeks turn red.


"I heard this place was well-recommended by the-whoah!"

Alice did a double take, shocked by what she saw through the restaurant window. Quickly, she grabbed Ryo by the hand, and dragged him to the windowpane. Inside the restaurant, sat a group comprised of Takumi Aldini, Megumi Tadokoro, Yukihira Soma, and Alice's own cousin Erina.

"Is it me, or is this obviously a double date?!" Alice was a cross between shocked, and thoroughly amused. Ryo looked at her delighted face, and he could almost see the gears turning in her head plotting how she could take advantage of this situation. Quickly, she took out her phone, and snapped a photo of the foursome discreetly.

"I knew Erina had the hots for Yukihira!" Alice said, with a great big grin. "She acts like she hates him but deep, deeeep down…!"

"Are you sure she isn't actually here for Aldini instead?" Ryo asked her. "Or maybe she just tagged along because of Tadokoro."

"Shush, Ryo. I know it's Yukihira! They have so much unresolved… sexual tension."

Ryo raised an eyebrow at her, at the same time groaning quietly at how Alice was getting carried away now, forgetting their own date. If it was even a date at all. The odds were she was going to waltz in there and spend the rest of her night trying to set up their schoolmates. "Uh-huh. Are we going to eat, miss?"

Alice surveyed the restaurant through the window again, looking a little thoughtful. She sighed to herself, and held onto Ryo's arm.

"Hmm. I guess we should eat elsewhere. Let's give them some space!"

"Huh? Really now?" Ryo asked her, a little confused at her decision. Alice liked teasing others. Alice liked being the center of attention. Why would she steer away from the rest of their friends?

"Erina's never going to relax if I'm there!" Alice said, and she was right. Alice had a talent for riling up her cousin. "And besides… I'm already having fun with just the two of us."

...Just the two of us, Ryo thought.

Shit, we really are on a date.


The evening panned out like their usual evenings out-eating, strolling, shopping, taking in the sights, and taking photos. It was their usual, yet at the same time, something felt completely different.

Maybe verbalizing such things really make a huge difference. It was as if the small act of saying that it was a date and not the usual night out between an aide and his mistress made a world of change.

"If you wanted to go somewhere or look at something, go ahead and say so, Ryo," Alice told him, for the nth time it seems, as she was distractedly looking at shelves of local wine and cheese, trying to figure a souvenir to get for her father. "We're only here for a few more hours, after all!"

As their usual trips went, Alice was the one deciding where they went and what they did, pulling Ryo along to whatever store caught her fancy. It was an exhausting task, one that would probably tire out anyone else.

"Are you driving me away, miss?" Ryo asked, browsing among the wines as well. A number of recipes that would benefit from these wines were in his head.

"Of course not," Alice said, "I was just asking, in case there was anything you wanted."

Ryo thought of the hundreds, thousands of trips he had with Alice, and the countless stores he'd visited with her. At times, it had been a chore, or something he saw as a duty as her aide.

But somewhere along the line, he realized that he didn't really want to be anywhere else.

"All I want is to be with you," Ryo suddenly said. "I'm having fun right here."

"W-What?!" Alice was surprised, her entire face going red once more. She hit him playfully on his arm. "Ryo, stop saying such things with a straight face!"

He only chuckled, and then reached out for a wine bottle on the higher shelves. "For your dad, right? You should get this one."


Ryo glanced at the watch on his wrist. The Totsuki train would be boarding in less than an hour now. He was now sat on a park bench with Alice, who was already suppressing a yawn.

"Why is our train leaving so late?" Alice said, a half-whine. "I don't see Erina and the others as well! Where'd they all go?"

"They're probably waiting at the station already," he said, also noticing how the park was already missing Totsuki students. "Should we head there as well, miss?"

Alice shook her head. "Let's wait here a bit more, Ryo. My feet are killing me!" She walked around in circles all over town, after all. "I'm tired, but that was so much fun!"

They sat there for a while longer, Alice reviewing the contents of the shopping bags pooled at their feet. She'd gotten souvenirs for everyone, and a couple more food items that would make for interesting ingredients. Ryo just gave her a small, defeated sigh. He always did her best to rein her in, but Alice tended to throw money around like the spoiled, rich princess that she was. All Ryo bought was specialty Sapporo draft beer.

"We should get back to the train soon," Ryo said, checking his watch again. "We might miss the train."

Alice stretched her arms lazily. "Mmm, you're right," she said. "I guess that's it for this date, then?"

Ryo felt a bit startled, as if the 'date' word always took him by surprise.

We really just went on a date. A date.

"How were dates supposed to end again, Ryo?" Alice asked.

Of course she was asking, Ryo thought. She didn't stay up long enough through her romance movies to know. "Is it really ending if we're going to go home together and we live together anyway?" he asked. In a way, most things didn't feel like a date just because they were always together.

"Hmm, you're right about that," Alice thoughtfully put a finger up to her chin. "But maybe we've actually just been on one long, loooong date this entire time."

Ryo chuckled at that. Alice sometimes had such a unique perspective on things. "When did we start dating, then?"

"Hmm, let me think. I think we were seven."

"The fish market?" Ryo asked, thinking back to the first place they went to by themselves.

Alice nodded. "You told the sailors I was your girlfriend!"

"Oh, yeah. I did." Ryo remembered. He let his mouth run off a lot more back then than he did now. "...How about now, though?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Are we... Well..."

Are we dating now? Are you my girlfriend now?

Ryo somehow felt as if something was caught in his throat, making him choke up and unable to get the words out. Alice just stared at him curiously.

Why was it so hard to say right now? They hold hands, they go on dates, they've kissed and touched in places just friends don't touch each other. But Alice sometimes had a skewed perception of what was normal and what wasn't-maybe to her, this was all normal, or a game, or some social experiment to simulate the movies she watched so much.

"Oh. I remembered," Alice said, and all of a sudden Ryo felt her draw closer, and then something warm against his cheek.

Alice kissed him.

He just turned to her, still speechless. Alice just gave him a smile. "That's how dates are supposed to end, right?" she said.

The surprisingly bold action from Alice lit a fire within Ryo, and he turned to her to kiss her again-this time, on the lips.

They've kissed before, of course, but those had been quick affairs that were quite chaste, or more often than not cut short by some interruption. This kiss was different-it was the romantic sort, with time seeming to slow down as he pulled her in closer by the waist, his hand then reaching out to caress her cheek as they kissed. Alice's hand found a home on his chest, leaning against him a little. There was some uncertainty in the way she moved her lips, but she didn't pull away, either.

A stray thought wandered into Ryo's head-what if some of the students were still around, and saw them? They were in a public park, after all. He didn't care for what people would think-but he knew that Alice would.

He pulled away from her lips, but otherwise he stayed still, forehead resting against hers, hand on her cheek.

"Alice," he said, almost a whisper, "Will you be-"

The loud whistle of a train interrupted his words, and instantly, the moment was ruined.

"The train!" Alice gasped, and immediately got up.

"...Relax, miss," Ryo said, quietly groaning to himself at the missed opportunity. But it slipped him completely now, and there was no getting it back. He got up, and picked up their shopping bags. "We still have about ten minutes."

"We should hurry," Alice said, already taking a headstart to the train station. "They can't leave without me!"

And she went on her way, a few steps ahead of him, as if they weren't just kissing passionately on the bench a few seconds ago. It was back to the usual Alice now, charging on ahead, dragging her aide Ryo with her wherever she wanted.

Ryo sighed, but quickly decided there was no point being pissed off about it now. After all, Alice wasn't going anywhere-she was stuck with him as much as he was stuck with her.

Maybe he'll be the one to ask her out on a date next time.


a/n:

I always found that Saporro episode interesting coz it was so funny how Alice dragged Ryo off to god-knows-where in an instant. Here's my take on that episode aka I'm pretty sure they went on a date

i didn't get to say this last time, but thank you to lovingryoali who made an account just to be able to review! I'M TOUCHED! And thanks to Winterabbit and Dracosoull as usual! Reviews appreciated!