Date

"Normal speech"

'Thoughts'

"Speech over phone or terminal"

Feldt

The pink-haired girl got off the bus she had taken to get to Eric's, her nerves still on edge and worried because she was a little late. Even after the encouragements that Christina had given her and the makeover she had gotten, she was still worried what Setsuna would think. 'Was his name even Setsuna? Probably not, seeing as my name isn't Haro_girl.' She began the short walk to the café, her mind wondering what Setsuna looked like and if he would like her outfit. The only thing she knew was his hair could be a spiky mess and it was black from their conversations. 'That's at least one hint I suppose.'

For this maybe date, Christina had actually surprised her at the choice of clothing. Christina had jokingly picked a super short skirt at first from her closet, saying showing off a bit of leg would help, but put it down, saying she knew Feldt would find it uncomfortable. In place of that, she had suggested a white pleated skirt that went down to her knees, with shorts underneath, a black sweater that would bring out her pink-hair and a pair of tights to help with the oncoming fall cold. Christina had also helped her with her hair, telling her she should keep it loose, just use a white headband that Christina had gotten her for a birthday. Christina had been beaming when the outfit was complete, saying Setsuna wouldn't be able to resist her. She also said she would pick her up after her date and would be interrogating her.

Looking down at her outfit, she hoped he would like it. 'I shouldn't get my hopes up. He probably only likes me as a friend.' She shook off the thought. 'No, Christina said I could do it! Just believe in myself!' Her heart raced as she continued to walk, seeing the building coming up.

Eric's Café was a small, local business that was known for their sandwiches. It had a few tables on the outside on a small patio and it had a comfortable, old fashioned wooden look that created a warm atmosphere. And sitting at one of the tables was a handsome black-haired man in a red scarf, white button down, black coat, though it was unzipped, and a pair of jeans, holding a coffee, looking around before looking back at his phone. Her heart raced even faster and she began to blush brightly. 'Oh no, I did not expect him to be that hot.' She took a deep breath. 'Stay in control. Stay in control.'

Setsuna hadn't lied about messy black hair. Despite it looking like it was combed, there were some wild strands, not that she was complaining about that. Two other things caught her eye. One was his tan complexion, which reminded her of a darker shade of Mediterranean or middle eastern. The next was his brownish-red eyes, which she had never seen before. She was too far away to really see into them, but her blush only intensified as his eyes scanned past her, probably looking for her.

Spotting a bench a few steps away from her, she took a seat, taking deep breaths. She spoke quietly to herself, "Ok, it turns out the guy I like is not only friendly and fun to talk to, but also hot. No problem, just approach him and say hi." Yet her legs refused to budge. 'Alright, I'll take a minute and gather my nerves.' She pulled out her phone, trying to hide her nerves as she looked at the Haro background on her phone. She started to text Chris, but stopped. 'You can do it. You are an adult woman. You can talk to your friend slash man you are attracted to. Chris believes in you.' She got up after a minute, steeling her nerves as she tried her best to act casual as she approached the object of her affection. She could feel her blush receding, though not all of it was gone.

Getting near his table, she looked down at him, his face looking at his phone on the table, her shaking a little, "H…hi there. Are…you Setsuna?" Her eyes roamed a little, not knowing how he would respond.

He looked up at her, his brownish-red eyes warm and friendly, "Haro_girl?" Her blush immediately rose seeing the look in her eyes, her knees feeling a little weak. She let out a shaky breath, laughing a little to hide her nerves, "Yeah, that's me. But you can call me Feldt."

Setsuna

'Oh. Oh! She's beautiful!' Setsuna immediately blushed as she said her name. 'With an equally cute name.' He was drawn to her pink hair and sea-green eyes, his mind shutting down for a second before rebooting and he let out a nervous breath, "That's…that's a good name." And without realizing, he spoke aloud in a breathy voice, "Beautiful."

Feldt spun some of her hair on a finger, looking away as she blushed. Setsuna looked away too, awkwardness washing over him after saying that. 'What do I do? What do I say?' He let out a cough and smiled at her, "Do you want to sit down?"

Feldt nodded a little more emphatically than she wanted, "Sure!" She sat down in the seat across from him, trying to fight her blush, "Have you been here long?"

Setsuna shook his head, "I've only been here for fifteen minutes or so." He had gotten here early, not wanting to be late for this casual meeting. Also, he realized he never told her his name, "Sorry, I never said my name. My name is Soran, though I prefer to go by Setsuna. But you can call me what you want."

Feldt covered her mouth, giggling a little, "I'll call you Setsuna then." She wanted him to be comfortable and if he preferred that name, then she would call him that. As she looked at him, the pink-haired woman unconsciously let out, "Pretty eyes." Feldt scanned around awkwardly after saying that, seeing a sign saying seats are for paying customers only, "Oh, I think I need to get something! I'll be right back!" She got up from her seat and rushed inside, leaving the Raven-haired man to his thoughts.

'Ok, so it turns out your online crush is actually a beautiful woman. And now I'm definitely lost.' He hadn't exactly planned for this. He didn't know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. Nothing Saji said could have prepared him for meeting her in person. Not only was she fun, nice and cheerful, but she was also really pretty. While her figure was nice and hair looked like an angel's, her eyes drew him in the most, showing her emotions so openly. He took a deep breath, trying to get control. 'What do I ask her? All of the questions I had just fled my mind.' He wasn't used to being so…befuddled and lost. Normally he was more in control, but she brought him out of it.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice her return, a coffee in her hand. She saw him looking down, a blush on his face. She called out to him, "Setsuna, are you ok?"

He looked up, taken out of his thoughts by her voice, "Yes, fine. I'm fine. I was just-"

"It's ok-" Feldt then began to laugh, it spreading to Setsuna as he joined her, a few people on the streets looking at the pair of them strangely. Both of them felt better and more relaxed, some of the awkward tension leaving them.

After about a minute, the laughter tapered off and Setsuna looked Feldt in the eyes, mirth in his tone, "What was that about?"

Feldt chuckled, "Look at the two of us. We've been friends for how long and we are like this?"

Setsuna gave her a smile, "You're right. It's not like we've never talked before." He thought for a second, trying to come up with something to talk about. Something came to his mind and he looked at her curiously, "What do you think about the new suits they are adding in the next update?"

She gave him a wide smile, his heart racing seeing it. Their conversation began in earnest, starting on the topic of Battlemech Online and rapidly going through topics like the lore of the setting, other series the tow liked, Feldt gushing about the next show they would watch together, Setsuna's next model he was building. It flowed naturally, creating a friendly and open atmosphere, the two connecting, laughing and smiling. The time flew by as they talked, and they were only reminded of it when one of the baristas came out to remind them the store was closing and she needed to clean the table they were sitting at.

Feldt looked at the time, realizing that two hours had passed, "Geez, I hadn't expected to get so caught up in that."

Setsuna gave her a warm smile, "Neither did I. It was certainly great to actually talk to you in person and I would love to do it more often," 'Is this a date now?'

Feldt began to blush, wild thoughts rushing through her head as she looked up at Setsuna, "So…Setsuna. Was this a date? I didn't know if I should ask and I've been wanting to ask for a while and…" She trailed off, not wanting to embarrass herself further.

Setsuna smiled, looking away from her and blushing himself, having had similar thoughts, "I mean…if you want it to be? I wouldn't complain. I mean a beautiful girl like you…"

Feldt looked up at him happily, intertwining her left hand with his right one, voice more confident, "Then it's a date!" She began to stand on her toes, bringing her face closer to his, "Can I…?"

Setsuna, seeing her move to kiss him, met her halfway, craning his neck slightly to bring his lips down on hers in a chaste kiss, her happily responding to it. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she brought hers around his neck, both of them pulling each other closer. While it was awkward for the two of them, happiness flowed through both of them. It felt like a dream come true. They broke the kiss after several seconds, both of them panting slightly and blushing happily at it, not breaking their hold on each other.

Setsuna spoke first, his tone breathless, "That was…great."

Feldt nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah. I didn't think the guy I had a crush on would like me back."

Setsuna's eyes widened, "You had a crush on me? I thought it was just me." 'No wonder it was so awkward at first. Both of us didn't know how to respond to our crush."

Feldt shook her head playfully, "If I didn't like you, did you think I would kiss you?"

Setsuna chuckled, "I suppose not." He let out a deep breath, looking into those beautiful eyes, "Do you want to do this again? Maybe this Sunday? I know a great burger place." He hoped she would say yes but was prepared for the worst.

Feldt nodded happily, "Absolutely! Why don't we exchange numbers?" Setsuna nodded and the two traded phones, Feldt putting a heart emoji next to her name in his phone. Trading back phones, Setsuna smiled at what she did. Feldt continued, "Do you mind taking a picture with me? My roommate is going to bug me about this."

Setsuna quietly chuckled, "No problem." Feldt rested the side of her head against his as both of them smiled, the camera going off on her phone. She smiled at the picture, Setsuna seeing how giddy she was. He looked at her curiously, "Can you send that to me? I'm sure my roommate and his girlfriend will bug me too." She nodded, sending it happily.

"So can I call you…my boyfriend? My roommate is going to pester me about that till the end of time."

He smiled at her, "…Only if I can call you my girlfriend."

She smiled radiantly at that, "Deal!"

Both of them noticed a beater car waiting nearby, a brown-haired girl sitting in the driver's seat. Feldt looked at him sadly, "That's my roommate. I've got to go but I'll talk to you tomorrow!"

He nodded, and she began to walk away. He called out to her, "Certainly. Try not to die as much!"

She rolled her eyes, "Then give me better backup!" She reached the car and opened the door, the brown-haired girl inside moving energetically and Feldt leaned back slightly. 'She must be asking a million questions of Feldt.'

He began his short trek back to his apartment, feeling light and happy. He now had a friend turned girlfriend and felt better than ever. 'I don't know what the future will bring, but hopefully she will be there.'

Author Note

Thank you for reading and please comment, review, and other response things! See you guys next week!