A/N: Yay, another chapter! How's everyone doing? We doing well?
Audience: "You suck."
Well, I'm glad you think so! Time flies, huh? To think I only have 10 or 11 prompts left to go. Still, I hope you like this one. Enjoy!
This can only end one way. Labrys was sitting in Makoto's apartment, evaluating two outfits compared side-by-side. She'd narrowed it down from her original selection, but now that she'd done so she was having difficulty making the final choice. They're both so nice, but . . . C'mon, Labrys, just pick one! How hard can it be, it's just two dresses. It's not like Makoto takes hours to pick out his tie. . . So just do it!
Of course, she was never going to get that done. After all, she was a girl. Girls don't get that kind of stuff done so quickly, did they? At least, Yukari told her so. Fashion was important after all, especially on a night like this.
Once again, it was one of those rare occurrences that Labrys looked forward to so much; it was date night! Makoto was usually pretty busy, so apart from just hanging out, Labrys hardly had any time with just him, all to herself, in a romantic setting. She enjoyed just spending time with him in a casual environment, but there wasn't a girl in the world who didn't want to go on romantic evening escapades with their lover, as far as she knew. So naturally, when Makoto proposed the idea, she accepted with haste, even if the subject material of the date really wasn't her cup of tea. Makoto had tried to suggest otherwise, but they were going to one of those fancy foreign restaurants to have some elegant and classy food, even if Labrys couldn't eat any of it. He wanted to change it, in favor of her enjoyment, but she wanted him to have fun, so she went along with the idea. Besides, the atmosphere could be nice. And I'll get to see Makoto all dressed up. This should be fun!
As Labrys hummed a happy tune whilst waiting for her Prince Charming, he walked out of his makeshift changing quarters (the closet) and brushed some of his hair to the side with his hand, only for it to fall atop his right eye again. Labrys giggled slightly as he sighed. "Why don'tcha' just get a haircut?"
". . . Meh," was his only response as Labrys chuckled. He sat down next to her, and she took a moment to examine what he was wearing. Despite his hatred for such clothing, saying he didn't clean up nicely would be a definite understatement. It was akin to something he'd normally wear, but the bow tie was replaced by a dark grey one and his hair was brushed in a more orderly fashion than usual. Combine that with his dapper black suit, and he looked quite dashing. Even if he looked kind of unhappy with it.
"You look really nice," she said, teasingly poking his cheek. "But if you didn't wanna' dress up, we coulda' gone somewhere else."
"Hey, you wanted to go here as much as I did," he said with a laugh. "Besides, I figured you'd enjoy yourself. . . And in my case, even my cooking gets old eventually." He smiled gently, before standing up and looking at his watch, which he put on specifically to look fancy. "I've got to have some good food sometimes. Anyways, we're going to be late."
"Well, aren't you just as punctual as usual?" Labrys giggled a little as she hopped up from the bed and linked arms with her gentleman companion, cuddling against his side with a smile. The duo walked out of the door, looking like an all-dressed-up couple from a classical western movie, both expectant of a pleasant evening.
Makoto's evening started out less pleasant than he had initially expected. At least, the check was less pleasant than he hoped.
He found himself staring at the menu, eyes wide at the prices listed in front of him. That's way too much for food, he thought, as he weighed priorities in his head. Such small portions. . . If I get anything more than an appetizer, I might have to drop a game or two for the month. . . His internal debate continued.
The woman across from him giggled quietly at his evident frustration, finding his irritation to be somewhat cute. As usual, she was fascinated by seeing Makoto in ways she normally didn't get to, and frustration was one of those moods she didn't often see from the cool, collected gentleman. Still, for his sake, she decided to strike up a conversation. "This place is busy, huh? I'm surprised you managed to get a reservation."
"Yeah, Mitsuru's pretty big with this place. Apparently she frequents it. . . She moved me up on the list." Makoto decided on purchasing simply a small appetizer, finally concluding that MMOs outweighed his culinary desires.
"The atmosphere in here just makes me feel all fancy like. . ." She looked around at the velvet-draped room, red curtains and glass chandeliers adorning everything. "I almost feel out of place. . ."
Makoto raised an eyebrow, cracking a sly smile. "You're probably the fanciest thing in this room, in more ways than one."
This elicited a laugh from Labrys. "Oh, stop, you're gonna' make me blush. Flattery will get you no where," she said. "You picked what you're gonna' eat yet?"
"Uh, yeah." Makoto cleared his throat as he internally cringed at the pricey menu in front of him. "I hope it's worth it. . ."
"C'mon, I'm sure it'll be fine. They couldn't charge that much if it didn't taste good, y'know?" Labrys looked around at some of the food selections, all of which at least looked relatively appetizing, as far as she could tell. She ignored the slight twang of envy she felt and directed her attention back to Makoto, managing to ignore it as the smile came back to her face. As long as I'm here with Makoto, nothin' can be too bad. . . She let her chin rest in her palms as she continued admiring him.
"Guess so." Makoto cracked a grin and placed his order as the waiter passed by, bringing each of them a glass of water. It was somewhat awkward to make up a reason as to why Labrys wasn't eating, but their server didn't question it, so it was all well.
The pair chatted idly for a while as Makoto waited for his food. "So how'd you get enough money to afford this, anyway, Makoto? A reservation for two ain't cheap, especially at a place like this."
"I've been saving for a rainy day," he said, taking a sip of his water.
"Aww, you'd spend your rainy day money on me?" Labrys laughed a little, to disguise the blush rapidly arising to her cheeks. "That's so sweet."
He smiled gently back at her, and she found herself in an almost intoxicated state brought on by the man in front of her. Makoto was charming even in his regular attire, or dressed in pajamas, having just rolled out of bed, but this was on another level entirely. The shows Yukari made her watch, featuring suave, handsome men in tuxes saving damsels in distress; Makoto easily looked like he could fit the role of one of those handsome men. And she didn't mind it at all.
"Do I have something in my teeth?" he asked jokingly as Labrys's eyes darted away.
"Uh, no. . . I was just gonna' say you look . . . uh, really handsome tonight." She struggled to maintain eye contact, feeling her cheeks warming ever so slightly.
"Really? I thought I looked kinda' silly. . ." He pulled on his collar, before smiling a little. "I'm glad you like it."
His smile managed to melt its way into her heart, as it usually did. Darn, am I ever gonna' get used to it? Even in her fantasies, Makoto rendered her speechless.
"Yeah, o'course. I look kinda' weird, though. . ." She tugged on her skirt, kind of wishing she was in her normal Yasogami high uniform.
"You look beautiful," he said, coolly sipping his water as if he hadn't said anything. Labrys's cheeks flushed even brighter.
"Th-Thanks," she said, feeling her heart warm up a little bit as she received the compliment. Aww, he always knows what to say. . . she thought to herself, as Makoto's food was delivered. He thanked the waiter and began to eat, as the duo idly chatted through the remainder of their dining experience.
"That was a lot of fun, Makoto," said Labrys as they walked out from the front of the restaurant, Makoto's coffer significantly lightened. "Who knew you could be such a gentleman?" She tried to hide the powdery blush on her cheeks by placing her head in the crook of Makoto's neck as the pair walked through the street.
"Yeah, but this suit is killing me. . ." He took a deep breath. "Maybe we should've waited for it to get colder to do this. . . Kinda' hot."
"Oh, I guess so, huh?" Labrys snuggled further up against Makoto's side, without a real excuse. She just wanted to. "Still, I'm really glad we did this. . . We never get to spend time together, huh. . ."
Makoto frowned a little, leaning his head atop hers. "Sorry."
"Nah, I know you try your best, and work is important. . . Which is why we gotta' make nights like this count, y'know?" Labrys grinned as she pulled away from Makoto ever so slightly, her smile indicating an idea. "So, what do ya' say? You wanna' hit Paulownia Mall? We don't have to go home juuust yet, do we?" she asked, in an innocent voice.
He looked at his watch, before his smile returned. "I guess we don't. We could hit the arcade."
"Sounds like a lotta' fun, don't you think? I'm not lettin' you outta' this that easy," she said, before grabbing his hand to lead him onward as she started to rush to the station. "C'mon, we gotta' catch the soonest train!"
Running wasn't on his agenda in this suit, but the arcade did sound like a lot of fun. So he accepted his fate of getting more exercise than he planned to get and ran behind her, a warm smile forming on his face.
"Hah, I beat you this time!' said Labrys as she walked out of the arcade, Makoto following closely behind her.
"Yeah, you got me," he said, putting his hands up defensively. True to her words, in just about every game they'd played Labrys had bested him.
"Heheh, now you can't make fun of me anymore. I won this time, which means I get a reward!" She crossed her arms proudly in the plaza of the mall, practically barren at this late time of night.
"What would you like?" he said, bowing respectfully to her to play along with her joke.
"Hmm. . ." She smiled, shaking her head slowly. "Tonight was a big enough reward, I guess. Buuuut, as an extra reward, we're gonna' go back to your place and play s'more games. And you've gotta' keep the suit on."
He sighed a little. "Really?"
"Yeah, you look cute." She hopped up on the tips of her feet and planted a kiss on his cheek. "That's what you get for losing!" she said, as they started the walk back to his apartment. "Maybe if you get better next time, you'll get the reward." She grinned, thoroughly enjoying her opportunities to tease him.
"Well I guess I just won't go easy on you next time," he said, putting his hands into his pockets nonchalantly.
"Wh- No way!" she said, as her blue-haired companion laughed affectionately.
The blissful happiness emanating from the two of them seemed to come from their own little world. Any observer could remark as to how happy the mechanical maiden and her Prince Charming were, and it was safe to assume that they could stay that way forever.
A/N: Woo! Update. Those are always a good time.
I want to thank allllll my loyal readers (all 22 of you!) and allllll the people who've reviewed this far. I try to take comments to heart and make everything better for everyone, but you just can't please them all, so I'd like to thank everyone who has stayed here for sticking with me and supporting my foolish foolish hobbies. I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season! I've got a bit of a Holiday special planned, so keep an eye out for that.
Thanks again! Favorite and review if it's your favorite! Follow if you want. Next prompt is DANCING. That should be fun. I have some ideas for that one, so be on the look out for more!