AN: Will progress be made? Find out in this chapter!
Doug felt absolutely ridiculous waiting outside the restaurant at 8:30 in the morning. Perhaps this would turn into a giant misunderstanding and they could laugh it off. To his surprise, Dylas exited the door, looking just as lost as Doug. They stood there, eyes locked, as if they could attack at any given moment. Doug was the first to crack a smile. "So, let's do this."
"Yeah uh-" It was so odd asking this, but it seemed like an appropriate thing to ask. "What now?"
"We're going far away where we won't be seen." He said, as if this was the greatest idea he's ever had. "I know someone who's going to cook for us."
"Sounds, interesting." This totally sounded like a real date. Sure he was uneasy, but he was also a little excited too for some reason. He reasoned that if nothing else, he'd get a free meal out of it, so I wasn't all bad. "So where exactly is this?"
There was a hint of hesitation, but Doug eventually answered, "in the Sechs Territory. Don't worry though, this isn't some attempt to reconnect with them." Sure that part of his life was something he'd like to forget. When he was with the Sechs Empire, he was only being tricked and used. The only good thing to become of it was that he met a nice lady who made him a free meal every day. It was obvious that Doug wasn't with the Sechs Empire anymore, but he still didn't like talking about it. He wouldn't mind taking Dylas to her house though, since no one from Selphia would be there, and also because he wouldn't have to pay.
Dylas seemed fine with this, just giving a nod and following his red haired accomplice to the airship. The best part of going to such an obscure location was no one would see them, and on the off chance someone did see them, they could easily claim they were having another contest, only in a safer location this time. It was fool proof! Hopefully…
They flew toward the Sechs Territory in silence. Doug flew the ship while Dylas just sat quietly until they landed. There may have been tension between them, but Doug was completely oblivious to it. There was one thing on his mind, and that was getting something delicious to eat. He almost forgot about Dylas in all his excitement.
So the horse just followed along until they came upon a house. Doug just walked right in like he owned the place, so Dylas reluctantly followed.
"Hey!" Doug said, pleased to note that the food was already put out for them. He took a seat at her table with his date, looking on with mild amusement. "Dig in." He commanded, more for Dylas's sake. He'd probably have it all eaten before the horse even started.
"Oh, right." He said. It was kind of awkward eating at a stranger's house with Doug. In fact, there was no way to make this situation not awkward, so he just started eating reluctantly. The whole thing didn't take too long.
"That was great!" Doug said when everything was finished. "Thanks again."
"Come back tomorrow for another dish."
"I'll keep that in mind." Doug responded, even if he had no intention of coming back here tomorrow. Dylas seemed to blush at the thought of coming back here tomorrow, but Doug hadn't noticed. "You ready to head back now?" the dwarf asked. This was all shaping up to be just like a real a real date, or so Dylas thought.
"Yeah." He said, unsure if he wanted to get away from Doug or not. So far nothing seemed suspicious, so perhaps if he ended it soon, there'd be no prank at the end.
The two then left the house and very casually made their way back to the airship. Neither of them said anything until they were back on the ship. Doug gave Dylas a little nudge and asked, "do you want to drive back?"
"Uh, sure." At least then there'd be less chance of Doug taking them somewhere weird. The return trip was silent. Dylas concentrated on flying the airship the whole time and Doug didn't want to break that concentration.
It was about noon when they touched down in Selphia. Both boys exited the air ship looking away. Doug grinned awkwardly and said, "well, I guess that's it then." He was about to walk away, when his arm was expectantly grabbed by the horse. When he turned Dylas was wearing a look that said he couldn't believe what he'd just done. "Something on your mind?" Doug was actually blushing a little, but he was unaware of that himself.
"I uh-" Even he didn't know why grabbed the dwarf's arm, but he did have a question he needed answered. "So uh, was that a real date?" His face had gone completely red. He expected that he had walked right into a trap or something. This certainly gave Doug the upper hand. What a stupid thing to ask!
Doug just kept grinning. "I guess so." What exactly would a fake date be like? He didn't know, but he did make good on his word. He wanted to follow it up with 'what, you didn't like it?' but immediately decided against it. Perhaps they could just put this all behind them, but that seemed really unlikely. Something like this wasn't something that they'd be able to forget.
"No, I mean-" For some reason, Dylas really wanted conformation on this. It was really bothering him. "I mean, was this really a real date?"
"Uh-" Doug didn't know what to make of that question. He already answered but it seemed like that wasn't enough. Perhaps he should give Dylas a hug? Well, he already made it this far, might as well go for broke. He lunged at the horse who obviously didn't have enough time to defend himself, and gave him a quick one armed hug. It only lasted a second, and when he was done he gave Dylas a cheeky smile and said, "Yep, it sure was a real date. Did you have fun?" He thought about saying something sarcastic, but then decided against it on the off chance of getting Dylas angry.
Dylas let go of Doug's arm, mainly to cover his face. It would be hard to deny what went on after that. Then again, Doug just hugged him out of nowhere, and with people nearby that could have possibly seen them! This time he grabbed Doug's arm violently and dragged him in the direction of the restaurant. That caught the attention of the tourists far more efficiently than Doug's minor show of affection just then.
"Woah, hey!" Doug complained as the horse dragged him. He struggled a little but soon gave up and allowed himself to be dragged. Honestly he had no idea what the horse was planning, whether it was something violent or not.
Dylas stormed through the doors of the restaurant, greatly startling Meg mid song but not having any effect at all on Porco. They continued up the stairs toward Dylas's room.
"Dylas looked pretty mad." Meg said. "Do you think we should break them up?" She was talking about a possible fight.
"Leave them be!" Porco replied, as if he knew something she didn't. "Let them get over their lover's spat in peace!"
Meg just rolled her eyes and continued playing.
Once Dylas made it into his room, he backed Doug into the wall and stared him down. The dwarf appeared to look defensive. That was only because he didn't know if he was going to be attacked.
"What are you up to?" Dylas asked at last.
"Nothing." Doug was starting to get angry now, and he was ready for a confrontation.
"You're telling me that everything that happened isn't some kind of prank?"
"Yes!" He felt a little embarrassed admitting to that, but it was the truth. "Relax dude, you don't have to do it again."
Dylas stopped then, and just stared at him. He blushed and turned away. It was almost like Doug was implying that he wanted to go on another date. "I-" It was just so surreal that he had just come back from a date with Doug. He was having a hard time believing it was really happening, and an even harder time adjusting to what this could mean. "I guess this isn't- so bad."
Doug's jaw dropped. It was all good though. So he grinned. "Hey, glad you liked it." The horse turned away, which was good, perhaps. "You liked it so much you brought me to your room?" He couldn't help it, his sarcastic side just had to come out. His grin turned snide as the horse as the horse realised the implications of that.
"You stupid pebble brained dwarf!" He snorted, causing Doug to comically dodge out of the horses way near the stairs.
"See you later, nag!" He said, then took off down the stairs. Dylas was left alone in his room, completely confused. Eventually he decided that he'd pay the dwarf back tomorrow, so they'd be even. Of course, that didn't really make sense since the meal they ate was free, but that was beside the point! He'd just pay the dwarf back, for the date, yeah. It was still an odd situation, but if Doug was capable of doing something nice, then so was he.
AN: Woo! More chemistry in the next chapter, but right now our boys have to get used to the idea of being an item~!