Sorry about the gigantic delay, turns out writing fluff is harder for me than I thought - hopefully the length of this chapter will make up for it a little.

Also, Chihiro's pronouns switch a couple of times without warning, so apologies if it's confusing/annoying to read.

Chihiro didn't know whether it was due to anticipation or dread but the rest of the week had passed much too quickly for his taste, and now he found himself standing alone just inside the school gates, alternating between repeatedly glancing up at the large clock face on the facade of the school building and scanning the courtyard.

They had definitely agreed earlier that day to meet up immediately after school ended, but Chihiro couldn't shake the feeling that maybe he had gotten the time wrong somehow, as he had already been waiting around a while, and there was still no sign of the gang leader.

He couldn't even double check with him via text, thanks to the gang leader's phone falling out of his pocket when he had been out driving on his motorcycle the day before. Chihiro wasn't entirely sure how he had managed to damage it so badly, but it had been broken well beyond repair. Left with no other way to contact him, Chihiro was reduced to waiting tensely for the gang leader to turn up.

He found himself wishing he at least had one of his friends around to talk to, but they were also nowhere to be seen; Ishimaru was not around, most likely discussing his studies with one of his teachers or overseeing the detention of other students; and Leon had long since left, dashing out of the school gates with a wave to head home - that day the baseball player had a date of his own to prepare for.

No longer content with searching relentlessly for the gang leader, Chihiro instead tried to think of what possible reasons he could have for not turning up. Of course, the gang leader was not exactly punctual, but it had been too long now for his absence to be explained by tardiness.

Well, he knew the man was notoriously disorganised; could it be that he had simply forgotten?

No, that was very unlikely. They had not really discussed the date much after working out the details, but that day Leon had pestered them for details on what they were going to do during their lunch period enough that he doubted even Mondo could have forgotten something like that.

Discarding that explanation, he began to run through the other possibilities in his head; he knew he was pretty gullible... maybe he had fallen for some big joke, and right now Mondo was off somewhere laughing at him. He had noticed that he was absent for the final class that day, although he had thought nothing of it as skipping class was a regular occurrence when it came to the gang leader.

While there was nothing technically wrong with that theory, it seemed far fetched even to Chihiro. Calling them best friends may be a bit of a stretch considering they'd only known each other for less than a year, but the two of them were definitely good friends, good enough that he was certain the gang leader would never pull something like that.

Maybe he had gotten into trouble, somehow? He didn't doubt that Mondo was more than capable of taking care of himself but he also knew that the man was very belligerent around authority figures, especially the police; it was possible that he had finally bitten off more than he could chew.

It was a worrying thought, but he dismissed it as well; if nothing else Mondo was a very dependable person, and had yet to fail to keep any promises he had made. It seemed unlikely that he would get into trouble so close to a date, especially one that he organised himself.

Besides, the man seemed to be getting in trouble a little less these days. Maybe Ishimaru's insistence on following the rules was finally starting to get through to him, if only a tiny bit.

That seemed to cover all the worst case scenarios, except one... one last possibility that stuck in his mind, despite his efforts to ignore it.

Could it be that Mondo had found out his secret somehow...?

It would certainly explain his absence. He had previously considered confessing his secret to the gang leader, but the nagging fear of him reacting negatively to it had stopped him from doing so. If he had found out somehow, he could definitely see Mondo being weirded out enough to avoid contact with him.

Chihiro could feel his anxiety levels starting to rise, but he took a deep breath and closed his eyes to calm himself.

No, it wasn't possible. Junko was the only one who knew, but she had promised to keep her silence. But if she had told anyone... now they were in high school, he had no doubt the bullying would be much worse than anything he went through at previous schools.

Deciding that speculating any further would do him no good, he tried to push the thoughts out of his mind as he gave one final look around the courtyard in search of the gang leader.

Still nothing. Whatever the explanation, it was clear that Mondo was nowhere to be found.

He sighed, dejected. "I guess he's not coming..." He muttered out loud to no one in particular.

Passing through the school gate and onto the sidewalk Chihiro started to walk home, head down, but before he could get far he heard a familiar deep voice from behind him.

"Hey, where do you think you're goin'... we have a date, don't we?" Chihiro turned to face the man walking down the street towards him, and gasped a little at what he saw.

Mondo's usual patterned coat and pants were gone, replaced by a simple pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt. His hairstyle was still the same as ever, but without it Chihiro wasn't sure whether he would have recognised the gang leader. He looked... normal.

Realising with a jolt that Mondo was looking at him expectantly, Chihiro remembered that he was being asked a question.

"I was starting to leave, actually." He admitted, looking up at his friend nervously. "I thought you weren't going to turn up..."

Chihiro hung his head again, now feeling even worse for doubting him.

"Eh? Why would you think that?"

"I was waiting here for a while..." He replied, keeping his head down to avoid making eye contact.

Mondo looked up at the clock, realising that he had been 20 minutes late to their meeting time.

"Fuck, sorry Chihiro... Looks like it took longer to get changed than I thought." He said sheepishly.

"You got changed? Did something happen to your coat?"

"Nah, I just changed out of it. I don't want any trouble today."

"Trouble?" Chihiro tilted his head inquisitively. "What do you mean?"

"I'm the second head of the Diamond Brothers. There are a lot of people after me... but they won't recognise me without my coat on." He explained.

"But your hair is pretty distinctive," He replied, unconvinced. "Won't they recognise you even without the coat on?"

"It'll be fine! Trust me." Mondo replied with a friendly grin, casually dismissing his concerns. "Now c'mon, let's get going."

His reassurance was still not enough to remove Chihiro's doubts, but he trusted the man enough to accept his words anyway.

A brief silence fell upon them as they walked down the street, so Chihiro decided to raise the issue that had bothered him beforehand.

"Um, Mondo... How come I didn't see you?"

"I do look pretty different without the coat." Mondo replied, sticking his hands into his pockets as they walked. "I got a lot less looks walking here than I usually do. It's not like that's part of my identity or anything... I think I should be offended that no one recognised me."

"That's not what I meant... I didn't see you arrive because you came from outside the school grounds." He elaborated. "Why was that?"

"Oh, yeah... I skipped our last class today to go buy these." Mondo said, indicating that clothes he had on. "Turns out I have less clothes than I thought."

Chihiro's eyes widened. "You bought those today? Oh, I should have dressed up too..." He said worriedly, trying to recall what kind of clothes he had carefully stashed away in his closet.

Come to think of it, he had a very limited wardrobe: he had few different shirts and jackets in addition to their school uniform but the odd, puffy style of his skirt was basically the only type that he currently owned.

"Don't worry about it, Chihiro... If it bothers you, I can change back." He offered.

"No, it's fine... I think they look good on you." Chihiro said nervously, his face flushing red from embarrassment.

Mondo stared in surprise at the programmer's word, dimly noticing how cute she looked when she blushed. It wasn't often that he received compliments from girls.

"Oh, thanks!" He said, shooting her a smile. "So, anyway... Is there anything you wanted to go?" All of Leon's prodding to get them to actually plan something had been in vain, as they didn't end up managing to decide on what to do.

"Hm... I'm a little hungry, if we wanted to get something to eat." Chihiro said thoughtfully. "I don't know if there are any good cafes around here though..."

"Okay, sounds good." Mondo agreed. Unlike the programmer he was pretty familiar with this area, and he wracked his brain for any good places to eat. "I think I know a place..."

...

"Ah, Celes! I'm so bored already!" Junko complained to her companion as the two girls walked out of the school gates. With a sigh she pulled out her phone and began writing a text to Mukuro.

She had no work scheduled that afternoon - it wasn't often Junko had a day off from modelling but now that she was finally free, she had realised she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do.

"You are always welcome to join me for a drink," Celes offered. "As long as you are quiet. I simply couldn't enjoy my tea with a noisy companion." For a fleeting moment she considered it, but firmly decided against it. It had been a long time since she last had an afternoon off, and like hell she was going to waste it dying of boredom inside some high class cafe.

"I'll pass, thanks..." Junko replied flatly, casting her gaze around in hopes of something interesting happening.

As luck would have it, as she looked around she spied a pair of familiar bodies out of the corner of her eye. After secondary look to confirm her suspicions, she nudged the gambler to get her attention.

"Hey, over there... isn't that Chihiro?" She said, pointing at the two retreating figures. The tall one lacked the gang leader's signature coat, but the shorter one was unmistakably Chihiro.

"Yes, it would appear so."

"I wonder who the guy next to her is," Junko wondered aloud, the text to her sister forgotten for the moment. "Because that looks like Mondo's hairstyle. I guess being a gang leader means you get people copying your style, too... I feel his pain."

Celes looked at her companion, momentarily dumbfounded. "...You really think that's not him?"

"Well, duh!" Junko scoffed. "He wouldn't go anywhere without his coat."

"Junko... Do you recall that he asked Chihiro on a date?"

"Oh, right... so you're saying that Chihiro agreed to go with Mondo but is now dating some other guy?" She exclaimed, shocked. "Damn... He's more fickle than I thought."

Celes began twirling her hair around her finger. "...Logic really isn't your strong point, is it." She asked, although it was more of a statement than a question.

In that instant the fashionista realised her mistake, and her mind raced for a way to save face.

"Hah! Just messing with you!" Junko exclaimed, flashing her friend a wide grin. "Of course I knew that."

"Did you know that you play with your tie when you tell a lie?" Realising the gambler was speaking the truth, Junko quickly snatched her hand away, pouting.

"Ugh... You're the worst, Celes." She returned her attention to her phone in a huff, quickly completing and sending the text message to Mukuro before stashing it back inside her pocket.

The gambler had nothing to say in response, so Junko decided to change the subject. She couldn't pass up an opportunity to do something interesting, after all.

"Hey, since they're on a date... Do you think we should follow them? Who knows what they might get up to." Junko asked tentatively.

Celes looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested," She conceded. "I need to see my chances of winning our little bet, after all."

Junko grimaced at the mention of the bet, which elicited a smile from the gambler. Despite her best efforts, she had failed to persuade Celes to call it off. "However, stalking them like some kind of paparazzi... Such behaviour is beneath me." She continued.

"Stalking is such an ugly word, Celes." Junko replied. "We're not going to stalk them... we're just going to go shopping. In the same direction they go."

"You have a way with words, Junko... Alright, I'll accompany you."

She smirked. "I knew you would see it my way. Now come on, let's-" Junko cut herself off, digging out her phone again to look at the message she had just received.

"Ah, shit. I forgot I had a shoot to go to, after all..." She said, grudgingly preparing to head off to the studio. "Of course I get reminded as soon I find something else to do."

"A shame, indeed..." Celes replied mournfully, although Junko was unable to tell whether she was actually being sincere. "Our plan has been foiled... perhaps I should have tea instead."

"Oh well, it was just a first date anway. It's not like anything actually interesting would have happened." She reasoned, but it was more for her own benefit than for Celes. "Anyway, I need to get going. See you later, Celes!"

"Good bye." The pair parted ways, Celes walking down the same path Mondo and Chihiro had taken at a leisurely pace while Junko crossed the road and headed off in the opposite direction.

...

They had made a stop at a nearby cafe, and after a light meal accompanied by pleasant, inane conversation they found themselves standing out on the street, wondering what to do next.

"Well, there's a park over there... we could walk through it." Chihiro suggested, but frowned after the words came out of her mouth. That idea had sounded much less lame inside her head.

"Parks aren't really my thing..." He responded. "I don't mind just walking around though."

It was a good an idea as any, he figured. In the dates he had been on previously (in the few cases he had managed not to scare them off) they had always done more stereotypical things like seeing a movie or going to a festival, but today he was content with not doing anything in particular.

"That's fine with me." She said, clasping her hands in front of her.

Judging from her response, Chihiro didn't seem to mind either. It seemed even polar opposites like them could still have at least some things in common.

"You don't know your way around here, right? Pick a direction and we'll go that way."

"Okay. Let's see..." She trailed off, taking a quick look around before picking a direction, and they began walking.

"Hey, Mondo..." She asked, a little hesitantly. "Can you tell me about yourself?"

"I guess... What do you want to know about?" He asked, regarding her curiously. He wasn't entirely sure where the programmer was planning to go with this line of questioning, but he decided to humour her.

"What it's like being a gang leader." She replied without hesitation. "I've always wondered what kind of things you do..."

"Well, alright..." As they aimlessly walked around the city he began to tell Chihiro all about his various misadventures, from encounters with the police to his past and the formation of the Crazy Diamonds.

On the whole they were mostly the truth, but he did catch himself embellishing the stories from time to time, and at certain points made sure to leave decidedly graphic details out - he definitely didn't want Chihiro to think of him as some kind of brute, regardless of how accurate the label actually was.

He even talked a little about motorcycles, and to his surprise she expressed an interest in going for a drive some day. Excited by the fact a girl had finally shown an interest in motorbikes, he promised himself that he would take her for a ride at the first opportunity.

Overall, it was an odd experience for him - in the other dates he had been on, the conversations had been a lot less... personal. It was not something he was used to, but by the time he had gone through all the anecdotes he could think of he realised he had gotten quite into it, animatedly recounting his stories to the programmer who had been listened intently the entire time.

"That's all I can think of, for now." Although she was a little disappointed there were no more, she thanked him happily for sharing so many.

"That was amazing! You have so many interesting stories!" She exclaimed admiringly, although her expression became downcast as she continued to speak. "It's really cool compared to being a programmer..."

"Oy, don't be so negative... You must have some stories, too." He replied, a little surprised by her sudden downturn in mood.

"Not really... It's all technical stuff, so people find it boring."

Mondo wanted to disagree with her, but he knew she was right - he had tried a couple of times in the past to learn a little about programming from Chihiro, but the concepts were quickly lost on him and so he instead had settled for occasionally sitting down to watch her type code rapidly into the computer.

"Still... You've done a lot in that field, right?" He said, trying to cheer her up. "You've probably done more for society than I ever will."

"Hmm, you're right... I'd never thought of it that way..." Realising what she just said she rushed to correct herself, horrified. "N-Not that I think you haven't done good in society! I think you're a very good person, Mondo...!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He brushed her comment off, knowing she meant no harm by it. "Enough about me anyway, now we're gonna talk about you."

"Me?" There was no way she didn't see that line of conversation coming, but she looked shocked nonetheless. "I think you know a lot about me already..."

"Tell me anything. Your past, your family... Hell, tell me more about programming. Just try to keep it simple for me."

"O-okay... let's see..." A little hesitantly at first, the programmer started to talk, telling him a little about her life growing up. Peculiarly, he noticed that Chihiro had avoided talking about her previous schools, but he did not press the issue.

Maybe she had been bullied? He supposed she would make a tempting target, although you would have to have been particularly heartless to pick on such a cute girl.
She seemed eager to move away from talking about herself, so after a bit the conversation turned to programming. As predicted, Mondo was lost almost immediately but he listened to her explanations all the same, simply enjoying watching the programmer talk so passionately about the subject.

Lost in conversation, the hours slowly slipped past as the two of them talked the afternoon away.

...

"Hey, do you think we should get some dinner? The sun is going to set soon..." Mondo cast his gaze upwards, realising the programmer was correct. The sky was already beginning to show tinges of orange and red in it as the sun approached the horizon.

Staring up at the sky, the gang leader was suddenly struck with inspiration.

He offered his hand to Chihiro. "I've got a better idea. Let's go, we don't have much time." She gave him a confused look, but took his hand regardless.

Unbeknownst to Chihiro, Mondo had actually realised his house was nearby, and after guiding her through a series of alleys they arrived outside of his house.

"Wait here, I'll be back in a second." Mondo commanded, disappearing inside.

Chihiro waited uncertainly for a few minutes, taking in the exterior of Mondo's (surprisingly normal-looking) house until her attention was caught by the sound of the garage door opening noisily.

Mondo came out from under it, already seated in a fearsome black motorcycle.

"Hop in." He indicated the empty seat behind him as he spoke. "There's somewhere I want to take you."

Chihiro hesitated. She had to admit that her curiousity was piqued by Mondo's statement (and she had sometimes wondered what it would be like to ride on a motorcycle), but the idea of taking a ride on such an intimidating vehicle was a daunting prospect.

He raised an eyebrow when she didn't move. "What's up? Didn't you say you wanted to ride a motorcycle earlier?"

That was true, but looking at it now she wasn't so sure.

"Well, yes, but..." Chihiro said uncertainly. "Isn't it a bit, um... unsafe?" She was sure there was a better way to articulate herself, but it did sum up her feelings somewhat. At least when travelling around at high speeds in a car you were surrounded by metal walls.

Judging by the look on his face, the notion had clearly never occurred to him. "Shouldn't we at least wear helmets, or something?" She continued, peering into the garage to look for any kind of safety equipment.

From what she could see there didn't seem to be any helmets lying around inside, which she supposed did make sense in a way - she doubted it was even possible for Mondo to put one on thanks to his pompadour.

Mondo snorted derisively. "Don't be ridiculous... helmets are for idiots and bad drivers."

"If you say so..." Shockingly enough his claim didn't seem to convince her, so he decided to take a different angle.

"I'm not gonna crash, Chihiro - I wouldn't lead a motorcycle gang if I didn't know how to drive!" He shot her a grin. "C'mon. It'll be worth it, I promise."

This time Chihiro reluctantly obeyed, gingerly sliding into the seat behind Mondo. She sat there for a moment, unsure what to do until Mondo reached back, gently grabbing her hands and linking them around his waist.

"Hold on tight," He revved up the engine, his shout almost drowned out from all of the noise. "We'll be there an a bit."

Any response she made was lost under the roaring of the engine as he suddenly accelerated, going well over the speed limit as he turned sharply onto the road, speeding off towards their destination.

He chuckled to himself as he felt Chihiro's previously loose grip abruptly tighten into a crushing embrace, along with a twinge of regret. Maybe going at full speed right away wasn't the best idea, but he figured that she would probably forgive him for it.

Besides, the feeling of the programmer pressing into his back was nice.

...

After tearing down a few streets at breakneck speed, they had arrived. Slowly coming to a stop, he shut off the engine and turned his head to speak to his passenger.

"Hey, we're here... You can open your eyes now." He unclasped Chihiro's hands from around him and got off the motorcycle, making room for her to shakily follow suit.

"Huh? I-I don't know what you're talking about, my eyes were open..." She protested weakly, taking a few steps towards him before stopping to adjust her skirt back into it's usual shape.

He couldn't help but laugh. Chihiro had to be the only person in their class worse at lying than he was. "Oh, really? Then how come I could feel your forehead against my back?" He teased, taking her hand before she could form a proper response and began walking, guiding her forward.

Glancing around as they began to walk up a grassy hill, she realised that Mondo had driven them back to the park she had suggested they walk through earlier that afternoon. She furrowed her brow, confused. She was sure he said that he didn't really like parks...

"So, how was your first motorbike ride? Pretty good, eh?" She was distracted from her thoughts by the gang leader making conversation.

The motorcycle ride... During the few sections of the drive she had dared to open her eyes she had been legitimately afraid she was going to get killed, but there was no way she going to admit it in front of him lest he was offended by her lack of faith in his driving abilities.

Plus, ignoring the whole 'scared for her life' part, she realised that it had actually been a pretty exhilarating experience.

"It was pretty good. Fun... I think." She supplied. Mondo glanced back at her with a look of mild surprise on his face.

"Ah, really? Most girls seem to hate it, for some reason..."

Chihiro winced a little at the last part. "Do... Do you think I'm weird?" She asked anxiously.

"No, of course not! It's a nice change." He answered quickly.

"Oh... that's good to hear." She breathed a sigh of relief, turning her attention to the surroundings.

The park itself was situated in the middle of the city, lush greenery with trees and flowers strategically scattered around. It wasn't as nature-filled as it could have been thanks to the many narrow cement paths that snaked through the park, but there was still enough plantation around to create a good atmosphere.

The grassy hill they were now standing at the top of rose noticeably above the rest of the park, and it was well placed enough so that it was possible to get a good view of the sun setting between the towering silhouettes of the cities' skyscrapers.

All in all, Chihiro though it was quite beautiful. She wasn't the type to get out much - especially at night - so this kind of scenery was something she had only really seen in desktop backgrounds.

While she had stopped to admire the scenery Mondo had decided to get comfortable without her, and she realised he had already sat down a short distance away. She started to follow after the gang leader but then froze after a single step, as a realisation hit her.

He had taken her out here to watch the sunset...! She didn't consider herself particularly good at picking up on atmospheres, but she couldn't help but feel the setting was distinctly romantic.

She frantically looked around. Other than the man who was currently sitting a few steps away from her, there didn't seem to be anyone else in the vicinity... the whole thing was starting to sound like a scene ripped straight from one of Fukawa's novels.

Which was worrying. Was he was planning to confess? She was happy to go out with him but she definitely wasn't ready for a love confession, especially because of-

"Yo, Chihiro." The gang leader interrupted her thoughts, patting the ground next to him. "You gonna watch this with me or what?"

"Sorry! Yes..." She apologised, hurrying to sit down next to Mondo while feeling a little stupid for jumping to conclusions.

It was a first date, after all. She wondered why on earth she had entertained that line of thought, but put it down to nervousness. It definitely wasn't the first time she had gotten so carried away like that.

After getting comfortable the two of them sat there in silence for a while, simply enjoying watching the sun slowly sink into the horizon.

...

Chihiro shivered, suddenly realising how cold it was. She wasn't entirely how exactly how long they had been sitting there (it felt like it had been a while, but she knew that it couldn't have been too long as the sun was still mostly visible), but at some point a cold wind had sprung up out of nowhere.

It was an action that hadn't gone unnoticed by the man sitting next to her.

"You cold?" He inquired, beginning to regret saying anything immediately after the words came out. Inwardly, he cursed himself for asking such a redundant question. No shit, Mondo.

"A little... I should have brought a heavier jacket." She replied quietly.

There was a long moment as Mondo debated what to do. He didn't feel cold, so moving closer to offer some warmth certainly seemed like the gentlemanly thing to do... however, he also knew that the programmer didn't really like being touched.

Would it be okay now that they were on a date?

Upon seeing her shiver again, he gave into impulse and decided to make a move. "...C'mere." He shuffled closer to the programmer, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Chihiro responded by also moving so she was pressed right up against the gang leader, looking up to cast him a smile even though she suspected he couldn't really see it in the fading light. She felt a little awkward being so close to him, but she couldn't deny it was much more comfortable than her previous position.

It was a lot warmer, too. The man was like a breathing heater.

"Do you come here a lot?" Chihiro broke the silence again, resisting the urge to rest her head on his broad shoulder.

"Not a lot... It's not really my thing." He explained. "It's nice once in a while, though."

"It is nice." She agreed. With nothing more to say, they lapsed into another comfortable silence until the sun had completely gone down.

...

After they were done Mondo had suggested dinner, but upon realising that she had neglected to tell her parents that she would be out all afternoon Chihiro politely declined in favour of going home instead.

Mondo had been kind enough to offer to take her home, and one terrifying (and as she had to admit, exciting) motorcycle ride later they had arrived in front of Chihiro's house.

Gratefully hopping off the motorcycle seat, Chihiro took a few unsteady steps towards her front door before turning back to face the gang leader.

"Thanks for today, Mondo," She said happily. "I had a lot of fun."

He mirrored her smile with one of his own, swinging his leg over the seat so he was leaning against his motorcycle. "Me too, Chi. Let's do it again next week, yeah?"

"Y-yeah." Caught off guard by his sudden use of a nickname, she stumbled over her words a little.

From the slightly awkward pause that ensued Chihiro figured that this was the end of the date, and had opened her mouth to bid him good night when he suddenly started speaking again.

"I suppose this is the end of the date, huh?" Mondo took a breath as she murmured her agreement, running his hand through his hair. "Did you wanna... er, kiss...?" His nervous habit kicked in again as his voice became louder, although he managed to finish his sentence before he started full on shouting.

"Oh..." Chihiro muttered softly, eyes wide open in surprise. A kiss... She had not considered the possibility of one happening, and now the opportunity was presented to her she was struck with indecision.

If this were a normal date she wouldn't have thought twice about it, but Chihiro was acutely aware this was anything but a normal date, considering the gang leader had no idea he was actually going out with another guy.

The way they had sat together earlier was admittedly intimate, but kissing was on another level. The knowledge he had unknowingly kissed a man probably wouldn't improve the odds of Mondo taking her secret well.

On the other hand, she had to admit she did want to kiss him... and, she told herself, it would certainly be rude to say no.

"You... you don't have to if you don't want to. It's not a big deal or anythin'." He added sheepishly, interpreting her hesitation as reluctance.

"No, it's not that!" She said hastily. "I-I'd like to kiss you..."

Deciding not to embarrass herself any further by continuting to talk, she closed the distance between them and reached up to press her lips against Mondo's.

It was a swift, chaste kiss, but by the time she drew away her face was already tinged with red. Uttering a hasty goodbye, Chihiro retreated into her house as Mondo waved before driving off into the night.

Closing the front door behind him and locking it securely, the programmer leant against the door and slid down until he was in a sitting position with his knees drawn up to his chest.

He sighed. He was really digging himself into a hole, wasn't he? It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, but he was already starting to regret this whole dating thing.

If he wished to keep his gender a secret he knew breaking things off now would be the prudent thing to do, but it might be too late for that already. With no other explanation given, Mondo would surely ask questions, and if he found out it would defeat the purpose of not dating him in the first place.

But he couldn't do nothing, either; he didn't like to deceive people any more than he was already, and just continuing to date the gang leader while keeping his silence could only lead to trouble later down the line.

He bit his lip, feeling tears starting to well up. If only he was stronger, then maybe he would know what to do. Strong, like Mondo was...

It seemed a little bit inappropriate given the subject at hand but for a moment he decided to try and imagine what he would do now, if he was strong like the gang leader he so admired.

And in that instant, he knew what he had to do. It was obvious, really.

Trying not to think of all the ways it could go horribly wrong Chihiro stood up and walked down the hall with a determined expression on his face, a plan of action already formulating itself in his head.

It was the weekend now, so he had two days to come up with a way to tell Mondo about his secret. On Monday he would find some place to talk to the gang leader privately, and then he would confess everything.

After that? He had no idea... he could only hope that everything would turn out okay.

Not as fluffy as it could have been, but it took me long enough to write the damn thing :P