Hello, everybody! It's been a little while. Good news! I finished writing out this fic in my notebook! Yayz! I hope to be able to update soon, because I'm very pleased with how this turned out, and I think you will be too! There weren't as many reviews on my last chapter as I'd hoped, but I did get some from people I haven't seen before. Thank you very much!D Anyway, this is a little longer than the rest of the chapters. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Chobits, any of the characters, or the story this fic is lightly based upon.
Chapter 6- The Date
He watched the rain outside in dismay from his window and sighed. It was Tuesday, the big day for Chi and himself, and yet Mother Nature was too cruel. He had planned on taking her on a boat ride and getting lunch to eat together at the park- the place she had loved to go to when she was still a Persocom.
He looked over to her as she brushed her hair and hummed, Plum dancing around her and Kotoko watching from afar. Though it was dark and gloomy outside, she still looked happy as ever. It wasn't as though this was the first time they had gone out into town- this was the first time that it could be considered a date. Hideki blushed and looked back outside, watching the puddles below.
Chi placed her brush down on the dresser and added the final touches to her outfit: the matching ring that she had bought herself to the one on his key ring. Her cheeks flared and Plum looked up in wonder. How she had wanted this day to come...regardless of rain, it was going to be fun.
She stood up and smoothed her jeans, having received some from Ms. Hibiya just the day before. She hadn't told Hideki, but these ones had had tags still on them, meaning the manager had bought them herself. Monday morning after Hideki had gone to school, she had simply showed up at the door with a plastic bag. She had asked about Chi and Hideki's talk, and was glad to know that everything had turned out well. She was especially glad to know that they would be going on a date the next day, but Chi could see that the landlady was upset about something.
"Ms. Hibiya, why are you sad?" Chi had asked her.
She shook her head, and she seemed to perk up. "I'm fine. It's just...I see so much of your father's personality in you. It makes me miss him..."
She left soon after she wished them luck on their date, and Chi didn't see her anymore that day.
Chi took hold of the light blue purse that had been buried beneath the jeans in the bag and ran a finger over the print of flowers on the front. She looked up as Hideki sighed again. "Are you ready, Hideki?"
He jumped and grabbed his jacket, "Um, yeah!" She did the same and looked over at Kotoko, still away from Plum, and opened her purse.
"Would you like to come, too?"
The purple laptop looked over at Hideki, who was now frantically searching for his keys, and nodded at Chi. With a little jump, she made herself comfortable in the collection of her wallet, lipstick, and brush. Chi zipped up her purse, but left it open just enough for Kotoko to be able to look out if she wanted.
Ten minutes later they were walking down the hallway. The rain pattered on the roof in a continuous beat, and Hideki groaned. Chi readied their large two-person umbrella and smiled up at him reassuringly. As they passed Ms. Hibiya's door, it opened and she stepped partway out.
"Chi?"
She turned around quickly and Hideki stopped to wait for her.
"Have a good time today," the manager smiled. Chi beamed and bowed gratefully. Ms. Hibiya's eyes shifted to Hideki. "Mr. Motosuwa, try not to be too nervous. It'll be fine."
"Thanks," he said, a little surprised.
Ms. Hibiya watched them as they walked off together. When they passed under the front doors, she retreated back into her own home.
xXx
Chi's grin could not have been bigger as she allowed rain to fall on her hand. She and Hideki walked along sheltered by the large umbrella, but she had her left hand out from the cover; as a Persocom, she couldn't have felt the drops, but now, her skin tingled from the cold water.
Hideki watched her with a smile. It was this kind of behavior that he found was one of the reasons he loved her. He looked at their hands on the umbrella handle, one on top of the other, and felt calm and refreshed.
Chi brought her hand back under the protection of the umbrella and wiped it on her jacket. She looked up him. "Where are we going, Hideki?"
His smile disappeared and his hand in his pocket bumped against his wallet. He didn't have much to spend, but he hadn't told her that. He wanted today to be special, but low income and bad weather were making it hard on him.
His eyes wandered towards hers and her amber orbs captured him. Her happiness glowed brightly in her irises and radiated off her like heat. He found himself smiling. "Where would you like to go?"
Her eyes grew wide and she broke their locked gaze to look around excitedly. He tried to follow her, but each place she stopped on made his throat tighten. Finally, she pointed to a small jewelry store. He nodded and looked around suddenly at the few people around them. Seeing no one he knew, he and Chi entered the store.
Chi skipped off to look around and Hideki closed the umbrella. He followed her with his eyes, losing sight of her only when she passed between aisles. After a few minutes, he noticed the case of shiny rings near the cash register. Checking on her one more time, he examined the gold and silver bands under the glass. One ring caught his attention: it was a beautiful gold ring with a simple and yet stunning design of diamonds on the top. He realized immediately that it would be perfect for a wedding ring, and stepped away quickly.
He ran a hand through his hair. That was going too far too soon. He hadn't gotten back to Blue yet and they were still at least four days until her deadline. He still couldn't think of anything to give to her...
"Hideki?"
He cried out, startled by Chi's voice. She cocked her head and he noticed that there was something in her hand. "What's that, Chi?"
She smiled and showed him the pair of earrings. He was amused to see that they were hoops with stars on them and placed a hand on her head. "Those are nice. I'd forgotten that you got your ears pierced."
"Chi!" She agreed happily. He followed her up to the counter and waited for her to pay for them.
With a bag in her hands, she and Hideki left the store and stood beneath the awning of the building. Without a word she tore open the package and replaced the studs that had been placed their by Blue. He found himself a little happy that she had done so. When she finished, she showed off a little for him. "Do you like?"
He nodded vigorously and her face lit up. She opened her bag to stow away her bag and Kotoko peered out. When Chi asked her how much she still had, the little laptop busied herself in Chi's wallet. She reappeared while they were halfway across the street towards the next place Chi wanted to go. Hideki's jaw dropped when he heard how much- even after she spent in the jewelry store, she still had more than him! Just how much was she getting at the bakery?
She led him all over town and he had to smile. She was behaving just like a woman her age.
Soon the young woman had bags and bags full of clothes, books, and more jewelry. He noticed that she didn't buy any rings and when he looked at her hand, he saw the ring that matched the one on his key ring. Without realizing it, he took hold of the small thing and smiled.
They were out for well over two hours, but he was actually enjoying himself. Just getting to spend time with her was all he really wanted out of the day.
While he stood by one of the racks in the CD store, he saw a couple around he and Chi's age just on the other side. She were laughing and holding hands, and as they were leaving, they stopped to share a small kiss. At that point he turned away shyly, feeling bad for watching them and because he hadn't done so with Chi. He sighed and looked over at Chi, finding her talking to Kotoko and holding a case in her hands. She seemed to be distraught about something, so he came to her side. "What's wrong, Chi?"
She jumped and tried to hide the case behind her back. "Um, nothing! Chi was just..." He raised an eyebrow as she showed him what it was that she was trying to hide and he saw that it was a CD that he had been wanting for some time.
"Were you going to buy this for me?" He asked.
She nodded sheepishly and looked down to her shoes.
He chuckled and she looked back up to him. "I should be buying stuff for you. I'm such a dork." He laughed but she cocked her head. "Look, don't worry about buying anything for me."
"But, I want..."
He put a finger on her lips and bent down to look her in the eye. "You earned that money. I know we've been through this before, but seriously, you don't have to buy me anything. I'm having a good time just being here with you."
Her cheeks turned bright red and it took him a minute to figure out what exactly he had just said. He stood back up, his own cheeks turning bright red. "You about ready to go?"
She nodded without looking at him and stumbled out of the store. As she did, he looked across the street to one of the nicer restaurants of the city. He had just enough to buy them lunch...
He smiled down to her, seeing her already looking up at him, and asked, "Ready for lunch?"
"Chi!" she grinned.
The rain had come to a temporary stop and he gratefully lowered the umbrella from over top of them. He led her to the restaurant and groaned; it was totally packed inside! He checked his watch and saw that is was around break time for those who worked around there.
Chi tugged on his sleeve. "Do we have to eat here?"
He shook his head. He had already been thinking of his original plan of eating out at the park, and it was sounding better and better. Once he reached the counter, he ordered their food quickly and was dismayed to find that the food was more than he had expected. He ended up getting a large drink and two straws so that they could share. They pushed their way back out through the crowd one more time and out to the park. Luckily the rain hadn't started up again, but he didn't want to chance it so he hurried across the grass to the sheltered picnic tables.
Chi wobbled up to the table with all her bags and their drink balanced on her purse; Kotoko helped support it best that she could, but she couldn't reach all the way around the cup. She sat down with a sigh and looked around. "There's no one else here."
He began to separate their lunches and smiled. "I guess it's too wet out here for anyone to be out."
They ate slowly and quietly, a bit of an awkward feeling between them. Finally, she broke the silence. "Even though it's been rainy all day, Chi has had a good time today."
He brushed brightly. "Me too."
She beamed and neither one broke the silence again until she finished. She ran over to the swings after throwing away her wrappers. When she got there, she climbed up and started to swing standing up with her small feet in the seat. He watched her and found himself smiling. When he finished, he joined her, but by now she had sat down to swing normally. Without a word, he came up behind her and began to push her along. Her hair flowed back behind her like a cape and she giggled. They stayed there swinging and pushing until thunder rumbled across the sky. They quickly made their way back to the tables and gathered their things. Within a few minutes they were back on the road and walking through the rain again. There were even fewer people on the sidewalk than earlier and the trip was easier back to home.
The lights did not seem to be on at the apartments, and as he opened the main door, he saw that Ms. Hibiya's light was out as well. They were both happy to be out of the rain and Chi skipped happily down the hallway to the apartment. With a click of his keys and a turn of the doorknob, he stumbled inside the room to try and turn on a light. He was afraid that the power had gone out and was relieved to find that his light came on without any problems. Plum greeted him happily from atop the T.V. and Kotoko pulled herself out of Chi's purse to join her.
Chi blissfully carried her shopping bags over to the futon and was about to sit down when she stopped. She carefully took off her shoes and socks and tossed them off to the side. Hideki followed her example and when he looked back over to her, he saw that she was blushing brightly. She twiddled with her thumbs through the handles of her bags. "Chi really wants to thank you, Hideki. I had a really, really good time today..." her eyes lowered shyly.
He smiled and was about to agree with her when she threw her arms around his shoulders. Her bag crashed to the floor and he thought that she was going to give him one of her infamous hugs when he slowly realized that her lips were pressed possessively against his.
'She moves faster than I do..' he thought, amused, and returned her kiss passionately.
Plum and Kotoko looked up from the T.V. stand and watched curiously. Plum smiled cutely and Kotoko cocked her head.
"What's up with them?"
A/N: Whew...that took a little while...Sorry if it was a little slow...I had a bit of a hard time getting this chapter out. Meh, oh well. I didn't warn you about the nice little surprise here at the end on purpose. I am so evil! XD Anyway, please leave me a review, and thanks for reading!
