Hello. It is I. After not posting for years, lo and behold, I find myself in a new fandom altogether. Well, I'm not complaining.

This fic takes place right after Steins;Gate(anime/VN) is over and Okabe finds Kurisu. It's inspired by the drama CD of the lab mems (hehe, I almost typed lab memes), going on a beach trip to Atami. The drama CDs are wonderful, by the way, and english subtitles are available on youtube. They're worth a watch for sure.

I don't own Steins;Gate.

Enjoy.

The platform is full of people, boiling and bustling, and right in front of the action are our heroes (?), dawdling as usual. Mayuri is fascinated by a nearby vending machine, and Luka trails after her, murmuring about which soup he would like.

Okabe watches them like a hawk, because Mayuri is prone to disappearing like a soap bubble on a children's playground (and popping like one); meanwhile, Daru tries to impress Faris and fails handsomely, as she is completely focused on warning Kyouma of the greatest and most ancient of the werewolves who is tracking his blood, and the great Hououin Kyouma himself is unconcerned and will not be swayed from watching the girl being rapidly swallowed by the crowd.

Daru, feeling bitter about his failure, turns to needling Okabe, who jabs at Kurisu, who is checking the time and is disturbed. She yells at him; he turns his head for a moment to reply – and both Mayuri and Luka are lost.

A train scrambles past, making them scatter out of the way, as they are pushed, pulled, and kneaded by the crowd. Okabe is only comforted by the thought that at least this isn't their train. It's the next one, so he has about eight minutes to find everyone again. Actually, he has six and a half, because the train to Atami is being forced to chug along by a conductor annoyed by the morning rush. For now, he concentrates on finding two important people: Kurisu and Mayuri. He finds Kurisu, and grabs her hand.

She's embarrassed – but she actually doesn't mind – but that embarrasses them both – so they bicker like usual. He spots Faris, spinning like a top in a universe of her own, and rounds her up. Then they pick up Luka, and Daru, and somehow find Moeka, who wasn't even supposed to come but is now coming anyway. Mayuri is in the restroom, oblivious to the crowd, to Luka, to Okabe, and to everyone else. She is warming up her wet hands with a wau-wau-wau under the hand dryer.

Okabe sends everyone off on an operation that nobody is interested in hearing the name of, but they get the hint anyway and split up and look for Mayuri. Kurisu looks near a store selling candy and stuffed animals, Daru looks below a bench and people assume he is looking up skirts, and Faris and Moeka team up, showing a picture of Mayuri doing Stardust Handshake to people in the crowd. Okabe wanders helplessly and almost bumps into Luka, who is staring equally helplessly at the women's bathroom. None of the female lab members are handy, so Okabe pressures Luka into going in (strictly for "reconnaissance".) Luka is both excited and terrified by the idea, to the point that he nearly cries. At that moment, Mayuri exits, hands warm from the machine, happily greeting them with a, "What are you doing here, Okarin and Luka? I hope you weren't peeking!"

Luka is relieved that he didn't have to go in, but also disappointed, but also embarrassed about being disappointed, but also relieved about being embarrassed about being disappointed, and ends up actually crying. Mayuri, saddened, immediately takes her accusation back, but in the end nobody understands why Luka is crying or not crying or why he may or may not have stopped. Okabe sends out an email calling the search off, announcing that Idun has been found. Again, nobody knows what this means but they get the hint and return. The world is whole again, the birds are singing, and the train is arriving on the platform one and a half a minutes early.

Okabe gets nervous, so he decides on a plan. Mayuri will stand between the two heaviest members – i.e. him and Daru. Moeka will stand next to Daru, since she is also prone to wandering off (or rather, being forgotten), and Luka and Faris will stand on her other side, thus securing them both. Kurisu will stand on his other side, because her being there is a good reason in itself, but this embarrasses them both, but they actually don't mind, but this embarrasses them both, so they bicker like always. He says, "You don't mind when I hold your hand at other times!" And she says, "Why are we all holding hands? Are we playing Ring Around the Rosie?!"

None of the others are enthused at the idea of holding hands like preschoolers, either, so they disperse and stand at ease, making Okabe even more flustered, and Kurisu watches him wondering why he gets so nervous about getting on the train. "Are you afraid of trains?"

He doesn't reply, and tries to herd the members like an old sheepdog, but they don't want to listen to him anymore. Then the train arrives like a roaring monster and the crowd surges forward, carrying lab members to and fro, into this compartment and that. Okabe will not board until he can make sure that both Kurisu and Mayuri haven't fallen onto the tracks, and are safe, and Mayuri's watch hasn't fallen either. But then the crowd is gone, all are aboard, every single member except Okabe, and he catches Mayuri waving frantically to him from inside.

The train begins to move. The whistle sounds. Okabe runs. His assistant sticks out her hand. At first she is laughing at him, but then she panics a little when they realise how terribly out of shape he is. He runs faster. A policeman whistles at him nervously, thinking ohmygod, whatisthiskiddoing, Ihatetheselittlebuggers andtheirgrossinsides, wait, whydoIknowwhattheylooklike?

He stretches, desperately, and at last their fingers meet and then palms and she pulls him up with surprising strength. That's right, Kurisu has some leftover upper body muscles from all the swimming she does on Sundays when she isn't swamped with lab work. She holds him tight with relief, and he croaks out, "Ah, so this is the choice of Steins Gate." She threatens to let him go – but she actually doesn't mind – but this embarrasses them both – but this time they decide to kiss instead, and all's well that ends well.

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