Due to these feelings for Klonoa going through both Lolo and Guntz's heads, which they could barely believe they were experiencing, it was only a matter of time before one of them finally could take it no longer and had to act on them…
…
Klonoa was woken up one morning a few days later to a knock at his door. It was a rather rigid rapping that seemed familiar to him, though he wasn't exactly the sort of person to recognise a visitor from how they knocked on his door.
Heading over, still in his nightgown, he opened it up to see Lolo stood there with a smile on her face. She seemed a bit frazzled, her clothes looking thrown on at the last minute, but such a lackadaisy appearance did not extend to her face, which seemed bright, if worn out.
"Hey Klonoa!" she said bashfully, her arms held behind her back bashfully. "You, um… got any plans today?"
"Um…" Klonoa said with a yawn, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes. "…no, I don't think so. Why?"
"W-well…" Lolo continued, doing her best to keep her wits about her. "I know this really nice café over in La-Lakoosha that I've been wanting to try, and I was wondering if you'd like to… check it out later with me?"
Klonoa thought about it for a moment. He didn't really have any plans today, and he wasn't about to turn his nose up at free food, so why not take her up on it.
"Yeah, I guess I could come along and see how it is."
Lolo almost skipped, but her slightly manic eyes, unnoticed be Klonoa, alluded to how petrified she was in the moment. "Great! It's called the Seafront, in the town centre, you can't miss it! I'll see you this afternoon!"
And with that, she took off down to the street with a quick wave goodbye. Klonoa stood in the doorway confused, before finally shrugging and deciding to get a bit more sleep in before getting ready to go to this café.
It was about halfway back to his bedroom that he was stopped by a thought.
Why was she asking him to come along?
Surely she was closer to Popka? The two were practically joined at the hip after all, why not take him along?
And why was the prospect of the trip out giving him that fuzzy feeling in his stomach again…?
…
"…ohmygodohmygodwhathaveidonei'vemadesuchanidiotofmyselfhe'llneverforgiveme…"
Back at the Claire Moa Temple, Lolo was in her dorm room panicking, hyperventilating like crazy. She had taken the plunge in asking him out on a… a date… but now it was locked in it seemed so… real…
This was a mistake, she needed to cancel, save face, claim she'd been kidnapped by bandits, anything to prevent the massive embarrassment she was sure to endure…
Suddenly, the door to the bathroom burst open as Popka came in, looking put out with a towel wrapped round his waist and his head covered in bubbles.
"Jeez Lolo, maybe quieten down out here! I can't even enjoy my shower with all this… racket…"
But his indignation trailed off as he saw the state Lolo was in, and his deep bond to her kicked in as he rushed to her side.
"Oh my gosh, Lolo, what's wrong?!" he said as he tried to get close enough to be comforting, but not enough to get her wet from the shower he had been taking.
"I… I um…" Lolo mumbled, trying to clear her throat so the words would come out in a tangible sentence and not a panicked stream of consciousness. "I asked… someone out… on a date… but I don't feel prepared…"
She felt like a coward, not being able to say it was Klonoa that was the subject of her fancy, but every time she tried to come out with it, it was like a mental block stopped her.
Popka's concern gave way to a surprised grin. "Ooh, you got yourself a sweetheart, have ya? Good on you, Lolo!"
Returning to the issue at hand with the knowledge this was clearly bothering her, he rubbed his chin with a paw as he thought it over. "Let's see… being prepared for a date… I've been on one before so I might know how you wanna be looking and acting."
Lolo looked up at him, wiping her eyes as she smiled despite herself. "Popka, that was just with Tat. And she was just stringing you along for a free meal."
"Hey, you never know!" Popka huffed. "And speaking of, I bet she knows plenty of how to look all pretty for a date. I'll give her a call and get her to lend a hand!"
"Oh Popka, c'mon, you don't have to do all that for me!" Lolo said, but her face still gave away how grateful she was for the help.
"Nonsense!" Popka said as he went to find a phone. "I ain't about to leave my best pal high and dry! You just wait, I'll make sure you're all ready to meet your prince charming!"
…
Klonoa looked around in the La-Lakoosha town square. There was the Seafront, which certainly seemed the sort of upscale type of café Lolo had described it as being, with a lot of nautical paraphernalia decorating the inside.
Speaking of Lolo, she didn't seem to have arrived yet. He had arrived at what he figured would be a good time, but hoped he didn't end up undershooting a ton.
Wait… there she was… walking through the crowd of people in the square towards the café. He saw her spot him, make a surprised expression, wave, then come running over.
"Oh, hi Klonoa!" she said with a slightly nervous smile. "I'm so glad you could come!"
Klonoa looked her over. In stark contrast to her rather dishevelled appearance this morning, here she looked so carefully put together it was insane. Her uniform looked ironed and pressed to perfection, her hair was all done up nicely, and even her face looked all made up. The sight made that fuzzy feeling come back to him with a vengeance.
"Um, hi Lolo!" he said. "You, um… look nice. What's the special occasion?"
Lolo gave a bashful grin, but internally she was still petrified, unable to come out and say that this get-together was intended to be a date. "Oh, y'know, we haven't really done anything fun together, and I wanted to look nice! C'mon, let's head in!"
Klonoa looked confused for a moment longer, before finally shrugging and following her inside.
He had to admit, this place was really nicely designed. The paint was a mixture of blues and whites, giving a really nice ocean feel which fit with the model ships and nautical paintings lining the walls. Kinda seemed like Balue's kind of place if he were more of an upscale eatery sort.
Led along by a waiter to a table, Lolo got ahead of Klonoa and tried to pull out a chair for him. But he barely got a chance to thank her and try to sit down before he fell right through it, the chair falling apart from under him as he collapsed onto the floor.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Lolo cried out, rushing over to help him up. She was about to start apologising even more, only to stop when she saw Klonoa… laughing.
"Aw man, they must've forgotten to properly build that one!" he said with an amused smile. "Here, let me try the other chairs before you try and sit down!"
Klonoa's amusement about the whole affair helped Lolo settle down a little, and she watched Klonoa test out the other chairs while the waiter ran off to find a broom to sweep up the broken one.
That was something she liked about him. His almost unflappable ability to find humour and a bright side to rough situations…
She suddenly clammed up, realising her mind had been elsewhere and Klonoa had been waiting to help her sit down. Quietly accepting the seat, she tried not to blush too hard as she watched him sit down opposite.
There was an extended period of awkward silence as neither of them said anything. Klonoa seemed to be waiting for Lolo to start a conversation, but Lolo was so crippled with indecision and disbelief at the fact she was here in this moment that she couldn't come up with anything.
At last, Klonoa decided to break the silence himself. "So, um… how's life up at the temple?"
"Oh, y'know…" Lolo replied. "It's alright, I guess…"
"Ah, that sounds nice…"
Silence…
The atmosphere was getting more awkward by the minute, Lolo's indecision seeming to be contagious. If one of them didn't speak soon, the whole thing would collapse in on itself from embarrassment.
Then, something suddenly occurred to Klonoa.
"Hey, whatever happened to that priestess that tried to stir up stuff before? Juli was her name, wasn't it?"
Lolo internally breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god, something she knew more than five words to talk about.
"She's long gone." She said, finding the energy to smile. "The High Priestess stripped her of her priestesshood and banished her from the temple. She seemed really torn up about it, but then by the end not many people were sad to see her go."
"No kidding." Klonoa replied. It had been quite a rocky time at the temple, what with Juli trying to use whatever leverage she could to get Leorina and the High Priestess expunged for their relationship. The sheer amount of luck that was finding a rebuttal to her claims, alongside a literal act of retribution from Claire up on high, had put it right to bed, though. "Didn't you punch her in the face or something?"
For the first time, Lolo gave a slight chuckle. "Yeah, I did. I was worried I'd get in trouble over it, but I would've taken the punishment if it meant standing up to my friend. It had been going on so long that I felt I needed to do something to make it stop."
Klonoa gave an impressed whistle. "Priestesses knowing physical combat. Wonder if they'll be learning martial arts next."
Lolo laughed, a proper amused laugh, and the tension left her body as the pair began to settle into a rhythm of talking.
Soon, the waiter bought along some menus for them to look through, and they ordered some food. Lolo requested some sort of elaborate sounding seafood dish, while Klonoa (naturally) went straight for the hamburgers.
He wasn't the most cultured sort, but that was something else she liked about him. He had simple tastes and could always be counted on with choosing something he knew he would like.
They talked throughout their meal, settling into a comfortable rapport the longer they went. It really surprised them both how naturally they got along when they were free to spend time together separate of work or the adventure of the month. Lolo was a surprisingly opinionated and gossipy person when she opened up who seemed to have a million stories about life in the temple, and Klonoa was able to bounce off her really well and build off her anecdotes with witty retorts that made her laugh.
After the meal they ordered a dessert, some form of trifle that was supposed to have this really lovely fruit base in it. It ended up being quite large, piled high with whipped cream, so luckily they'd gotten it share between them. Lolo tried to stay tidy, eating carefully with a spoon, but Klonoa had no such hangups and was digging in with gusto.
At one point he pulled back to take a drink of water, not noticing a glob of whipped cream had gotten on his nose. Laughing at the sight, Lolo reached over and helped wipe it off with a finger. The sudden intimate touch made Klonoa blush and stop in his tracks, his stomach all fuzzy.
The two simply gazed at each other for a short time, not saying anything and simply letting the moment hang, before they returned to their dessert.
…
The pair stepped outside the café, having finished up their food and paid, feeling pretty good. Their conversation had evolved into a discussion about Popka's supposed "popularity" with female canines, though Lolo knew for a fact that it was mostly just hyperbole.
She turned to Klonoa, positively beaming. It could not have gone more perfectly. "I had a really nice time, Klonoa."
Klonoa smiled back. "Yeah, I really enjoyed it as well."
"We should get together again sometime."
Klonoa rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I'd like that."
There was a brief silence, both of them not sure how to proceed before Lolo suddenly pulled Klonoa into a hug. Klonoa let out a surprised squeak, not having expected it, before relaxing into her embrace and returning it.
It felt nice.
After a time, they pulled away, and Lolo made her goodbyes, having a decent walk back to the temple ahead of her. She waved as she skipped down the street, and Klonoa waved back.
His face was red as a beetroot, that fuzzy feeling still present in his stomach, and he wasn't sure why.
Lolo was one of his best friends, sure, but he had never felt this feeling so intensely before, and it mystified him. Oddly enough, she had never said what the reason for getting together was, and why she'd asked him specifically to join her for a meal which, while lovely, still confused him as to why.
He almost felt like the reason was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it…
…
Meanwhile, Guntz paced around his room. He had calmed down a little since he'd nearly been overwhelmed by his feelings for Klonoa, but they still occupied his thoughts, and that annoyed him.
At last, he came to a decision. If he didn't do something about these feelings, they'd surely eat away at him, and he couldn't have that.
Pretty soon, he'd need to do something about it…