Chapter 9: Perfect Date
It was a clear spring morning at the Lookout, and Gabriel was the first to be awakened by the sound of chirping birds. The warm morning sun beamed on his fur, comforting him for the task he had finally mustered up the courage to act upon. He went to Marshall's door and knocked.
"Marshall, are you up?" Gabriel asked nervously.
An audible yawn could be heard from inside followed by the Dalmatian opening his door. Marshall still looked half asleep but proceeded to talk.
"Good morning, Gabriel. What's wrong?" Marshall yawned again, eyes only open halfway. Marshall looked tired, his fur was messy and his eyes were barely open, he wore a red bandana. I have been teaching him and Margareth the Counter Of The Swan Style for Pup-Fu and it looks like he was up for quite a while practicing.
"Nothing. I just wanted to ask... what kind of flowers does Margareth like the most?" Gabriel asked curiously, flinching at the Dalmatian's likely suspicion.
Instead of being confused or even alert, Marshall didn't think twice before answering the question. He was too weary to wonder why Gabriel asked this question so early.
"Margareth's favorite flowers are daisies."
Gabriel was somewhat confused at the Dalmatian's unusual behavior, but instead, he used it to his advantage.
"Does Margareth like chocolate?" Gabriel asked with curiosity.
"She likes chocolates. The dog-safe ones, of course." At this point, Marshall was struggling to keep his eyes even half open. "Mr. Porter knows the ones."
"One more, Marshall," Gabriel rushed on, afraid Marshall would fall asleep before answering all his questions. "What kind of dogs does Margareth like the most: rich and spoiled or common and well-behaved."
"Margareth isn't that picky, but she loves a gentleman pup," Marshall answered, before finally giving in to tiredness. He slumped to the ground, eyes closing, and was already snoring. He didn't even bother trying to get back into his pup's house, just slept out front.
Gabriel didn't pay too much attention to what Marshall was doing at that point, though. He was too excited that he got the information he wanted.
"Thanks, bud, I think I have all that I need," Gabriel said happily to the snoring Marshall, running towards the Lookout with a large smile on his face.
Gabriel ran inside and was relieved to find Ryder already up. Dressed in his usual pajamas and German Shepard slippers -that looked an awful lot like Chase- Ryder was busy playing his games on his Pup Pad.
"Ryder." Gabriel cleared his throat getting Ryder's attention, causing the boy to pause his game and give Gabriel his full attention. "I need two hours off the Paw Patrol to plan out my first date. I want to finally confess my love to a certain pup," Gabriel said, trying to give no clue about who the certain pup was.
His efforts, of course, were pointless.
"Is the 'certain pup', Margareth?" Ryder smiled.
"H-How did you?" Gabriel stammered in shock.
"I've seen how you look at her. You don't stop staring at her," Ryder said with a smile, causing Gabriel to blush lightly. "Go on. You've done so much work lately. A good pup like you deserves a break."
Gabriel's eyes gleamed in excitement. "Thanks, Ryder!"
"You're wel–" Ryder tried to say, but Gabriel was already bolting outside. "...come, Gabriel?" Shaking his head with a chuckle, Ryder turned back to his games.
Gabriel went outside of the Lookout and ran past the pup houses in a blur of brown fur. The other pups who were just starting to wake up, watched him go with confused faces.
"Where's Gabriel going so early in the morning?" Chase asked curiously.
"And so fast," Zuma commented. "You don't suppose something stawtled him?"
"I don't think so," Margareth said. "He's come a long way since he first arrived. Though, he did act kind of jumpy last night."
"We can ask him later," Rubble complained as his stomach growled. "It's breakfast time!"
All the pups laughed and started to head inside. As Zuma passed Marshall's pup house, he noticed Marshall sprawled on the ground, sleeping soundly.
"Wake up, sleepy paws," Zuma said with a laugh, nudging Marshall.
Marshall moaned and swiped a paw at Zuma. "No more questions, Gabriel."
"Huh? Mawshall, I'm Zuma!" Zuma protested, attracting the others' attention.
The other pups, excluding Gabriel and Rubble -who had gone in search of breakfast- joined Zuma as Marshall slowly dragged himself into a seated position.
Marshall blinked at the pups around him. "Huh? What's up, pups?"
"Mawshall, do you know anything about Gabriel leaving? Like did he talk to you ow anything?" Zuma asked curiously.
Marshall thought for a moment before saying, "I think he did? I thought I had just dreamed the whole thing. Why? Where's Gabriel gone?"
"We were hoping you would know," Chase said.
"He didn't tell me anything." Marshall stood and stretched to wake up. "All he did was ask me some questions."
"Like what?" Skye butted in.
"Umm... I think they were questions about Margareth. He asked me, like, her favorite flowers and stuff like that," Marshall said, eyes widening in what he had just said.
The pups glanced at each other with wide grins, all sharing the same thoughts.
Marcus was the first to voice it. "Sounds like the makings of a date to me."
"Is Gabriel planning to have his first date with Margareth? That's so romantic?" Skye cooed happily.
Margareth smiled softly and said. "I wonder what he is planning?"
"I just might go and 'peep in' on the guy," Marcus said mischievously.
"Leave Gabriel alone, Marcus. Spying on our friends is a bad thing," Marshall said, though he was wildly curious himself, he had better manners than spying on his friend.
In Adventure Bay, Gabriel is seen walking down to Mr. Porter's cafe, the entire time he is trying to contemplate that this is finally happening, Asking Margareth on a date, his first one to be exact. The most beautiful dog that he had laid his eyes on, his mind started to drift off and thoughts started to spark in his brain of what his future with the Dalmatian might look like. He was staring up at the sky with a wide smile, knowing that he could have a bright fu-
HONK HONK
The blare of what sounded like a car horn viciously brought Gabriel out of his daydreaming and back into the cold harshness of reality, he looked to his right to how the front lights of car beaming at his face. It appears that the Chow Chow wasn't looking where he was going, he unconsciously walked on the main road. Gabriel ran to the other side of the sidewalk to get out of the way, after the car drove, the person gave a not-so-friendly hand gesture to the pup. Gabriel pushed that aside and decided to keep walking on to Mr. Porter's cafe.
The Chow Chow made his way inside where he saw Mr. Porter cleaning a front table with a piece of cloth in his hand.
"Hey Gabriel, what brings you in here today?" He asked as he turned his direction to him and away from the half-dirty table.
"Mr. Porter sir, I need a huge favour from you, I plan on asking Margareth to a dinner here and I need this to be as romantic as possible, Don't worry about money, I can pay it" Gabriel stated before assuring Mr. Porter that he can pay any price he wants him to for extra work into making this place for the most perfect date ever to him.
"No need, with all the help you've done around Adventure Bay, I should be able to help you" Porter motioned his hand in a way that let him know he didn't have to pay anything, Gabriel was a big help around his cafe and the entire town, it was the least he could do for him in his time of need.
"A-Are you sure?!" He said shocked, of course, he knew that was a kind person, but he didn't think he would just let him do this for free. The Chow Chow didn't complain and instead jumped at him and started giving him a big hug.
"Thank you so much, I need it all done by 7:30, I need to go get some stuff and prepare, thank you so much again" Gabriel explained before running out the door and onto the sidewalk where he planned to get a few things that Marshall told him that Margareth liked. Things like Daisies and dog-safe chocolates.
Back at the Lookout
Marshall, Skye, Chase, and Margareth were seen lying down on the couch watching Apollo the super dog, Rubble was present but he wasn't on the couch. He was lying down on the floor enjoying his favorite show with everyone else. The English Bulldog had already seen this episode about twenty times over but that didn't stop him from watching it again. On the couch was a bowl of Chips Marshall had his paw in to feed his hunger. Skye was talking with Margareth about what she was going to do if the date was really real.
"What do you think that the date will be like?" Skye asked swaying her back feet in the air like a child, the female Dalmatian started to blush at the thought that the Chow Chow was actually planning something for her.
"Maybe you need to wear a dress, what color: Red, Blue, Green, Yel-" Skye's thoughts started to go on and on, picturing Margareth in a colorfully bright dressed until her daydreaming was halted by Rocky.
"Calm down Skye, For all we know he could be getting those things for someone else" Rocky stated while opening the fridge in the kitchen to get a drink. Thoughts started to race through the female Dalmatian's mind. Most of them were not so pleasant, if he wasn't getting them for her, could he possibly be getting them for someone else? Did he not love her?
"You're wrong, he loves me and I know it!" Margareth shouted while getting up and looking at the mixed breed from the couch, Rocky almost dropped his drink from the sudden change in her mood.
"Woah woah, calm down Margareth, I never said he didn't love you" Rocky was right, he didn't say Gabriel didn't love her, I guess it just came out wrong. Margareth composed herself after almost making Rocky have an accident and turned her attention back to the television with a bit of a slouch in her posture and a huff in her tone. Everyone else felt like they wanted to try to calm her down and talk to her to ease her, the awkwardness in the air was just too strong, and not even Chase dared to speak up after that. The only thing that broke the non-communication was when Marshall's pup tag started to ring.
The Dalmatian let out a slight groan and got up from the soft couch, making his way somewhere where the audio from the tv wouldn't butt into the call. Marshall made his way around the corner into a hallway where he pressed on his pup tag to go through with the call, on the other end was Gabriel with a sort of distressed tone.
"Marshall, I need your help, I was getting everything ready until I realized, I don't know what to say to her!" Gabriel exclaimed frantically, Marshall giggled. He knew the Chow Chow was shy, but he didn't it would go this far that he wouldn't know what to say on a late-night dinner date.
"Yeah, thought you might say something like that, well, I guess just try to be yourself, I am not the pup to talk to about girls," Marshall said with a sigh, he had his own complicated girl problems
"But-But-But, what if I say something stupid, and then she'll think that I am stupid," Gabriel said panicked.
"Listen, I may not be the best pup to talk about girl but I know my sister, just be yourself and everything will be fine," I reassure him gently. "How about we talk in person, where are you?"
"I'm at the fancy formal wear store" Gabriel stated.
"I-Wait you're wearing a suit?" Marshall asked more surprised, The firepup thought wearing a suit was a little extravagant, of course, Gabriel wanted to make a good first date and look his best, but he could have worn something else instead of buying a new suit.
"Yeah, I wanna look just my best and also tell Margareth to wear something nice, alright thanks bye" The Chow Chow hung up immediately after knowing the conversation was pretty much over, Marshall was just left there with a face that said 'What do I do?'. After that sudden hang-up, Marshall made his way back into the living room where everyone was still distracted by Apollo the super dog on the big screen. Marshall made a loud whistle, calling out his older sister.
"Hey Margareth, Looks like you were right, Gabriel has something planned for you, he wants you to be in a dress" Marshall stated while walking over to the front of the couch and taking his spot back on the fabric. Margareth's and Skye's eyes filled with absolute glee, the two females screamed with excitement. The Female Dalmatian's pupils seemed to have turned into hearts at that point. Skye felt the same kind of joy, she immediately took Margareth's paw and led her down to the hallway.
"C'mon Margareth, I think I have a dress you can wear" Skye exclaimed to her, both females sprinting down the hallway.
After a Few Minutes
Gabriel was waiting outside the store in a black suit he recently bought, checking his watch every minute tracking the time, nervously waiting for Marshall to get down where he was to give him the desperately needed confidence. He looked from left to right to try and spot Marshall's firetruck, but instead of seeing the bright red truck, he saw the Dalmatian walking down the sidewalk up to him.
"I thought you were coming in your truck" Gabriel expressed his concern.
"I decided to get some exercise, now, about Margareth, there is no need to panic, just be yourself and I am sure everything will go great," Marshall tells him with a warm smile.
"But what if I mess everything up? I don't even know how to talk to her," Gabriel whines.
"You and me both, but you talk to Margareth all the time, so what if this is a date, there is no reason for you to change, be yourself, that is all she wants," Marshall says with a smile.
Gabriel took a deep breath, "Okay, I think I am ready,"
"Then go ask her out already," Marshall joked and pushed him with a smile.
"I will," Gabriel said with a boost of confidence.
"Now, let get you ready," Marshall tells him with a smile.
"Oh, and don't I didn't hear you and me both part," Gabriel teased Marshall with a smile as he. Marshall could only smile through the pain, Like he always had like he was taught.
"Maybe I will you more later, if you can pull this off," Marshall tells him with a fake smile.
"Fine, don't think I won't forget."
Meanwhile at Jake's Cabin
"Oh, How about this one?" Everest asked out, holding a Yellow dress on a hanger in front of the Female Dalmatian. Skye and Margareth originally checked the cockapoo's wardrobe for anything for her to wear, until realizing all of Skye's clothing and dresses were "surprisingly" too small for Margareth to wear. So they headed up the mountain to Everest to see if they might find any more luck. Everest indeed did have some dresses, but so far. Not many were to Margareth's liking.
"Nah" Margareth motioned her paw in a motion that rejected the bright yellow fabric.
"Ooo, this one is beautiful, what about this dress?" Skye was also searching through the array of dresses with the Husky, Skye pulled out a white and grey dress that also came with a small flower reef to wear on your head. Margareth did agree the dress was beautiful, but it didn't feel like what she was looking for.
"Nah" Skye put back the dress while searching through others, The Female Dalmatian turned over to Everest who was doing the same, she continuously searched through the dresses until she went past one that caught Margareth's eye.
"Wait wait wait, what was that one?" Margareth got up and walked over to Everest, trying to contemplate what she had seen. Everest knew what she was talking about and pulled out a bright red dress that also had a flower reef made from daisies.
"Oh yeah, I remember this dress, do you want to wear it?" Everest asked before the Dalmatian grabbed it and then awed in its glory, thinking it was the most beautiful dress ever made in her eyes. Margareth immediately took it and dashed for the nearest bathroom to try it on. Both Everest and Skye looked in silence as they hadn't seen her more that fast before
"Soo uhhh...what happened" Everest commented
"Yup...anyway, How's everything with Marshall?" Skye asked Everest who was already dealing with another love in her life, Marshall. A bright red blush was displayed over the Husky's face in response.
"F-Fine, I plan on asking him to stay over one day,m-maybe next week sometime...what about you, anyone you like?" Everest asked the question Skye was somewhat expecting, but not prepared for. The cockapoo displayed a blush upon thinking of Marcus.
"Uhh..." Before Skye could let out her answer, The bathroom door opened to reveal the female Dalmatian wearing the red dress with the flower reef upon her head. She gave a pose to the Cockapoo and Husky, showing off her new look.
"Amazing, Gabriel is Gonna fall for you" Skye commented, gaining the thank you from Margareth.
Later at 7:10 PM
Margareth's tag started to beep, she answered it, and on the other end was her brother, Marshall. The Dalmatian told her sister to come outside for a surprise. Both Everest and Skye cooed at the romantic idea as they watched Margareth go into the elevator and go down.
"I hope they kiss" Everest hoped looking down to her side to the cockapoo who shared the same hope.
"I hope she doesn't mess up" Skye replied to the Husky, Everest knew what the Dalmatian was doing, but that didn't stop her brain from contracting fake scenarios where Margareth would say something dumb and Gabriel wouldn't like her anymore.
"I have an idea, Maybe we can follow her on her date to see how it goes" Everest leaned in with a devious smirk on her muzzle, Skye wasn't one for spying unfortunately.
"That's insane, No way she would let us watch her like that" Skye exclaimed, she stood by those words one hundred percent, Skye didn't approve of this idea, but then her curiosity got the better of her, sharing the same terrible scenarios. The cockapoo had a small debate in her mind about whether to follow her or not. She was good friends with Margareth and she didn't want to taint that relationship, but on the other hand, she might need some help in case she says something she's not supposed to or messes up in general.
Once outside, Margareth was greeted by Gabriel who had his black tuxedo on, he extended his paw out to her. The Female Dalmatian in response did the same and reached her paw out to his. He gently grabbed her paw and leaned to kiss it. This gesture made Margareth blush pure pink across her muzzle.
Marshall was also present in this scene, though he wasn't noticed as both Gabriel and Margareth were too busy with each other, the Firepup made his way back into the Lookout, Before he could step into the elevator, he was met by Everest and Skye.
"Hey girls, whatcha' ya doin'?" Marshall had a chill and relaxed tone, he was really looking to relax after helping Gabriel gain the confidence to be with Margareth and talk to her for a single night.
"Nothing, just spying on Margareth" Skye responded like it was no big deal to spy on her friend, Marshall displayed a shocked face on his muzzle before looking back at Gabriel and Margareth. They had already started their walk to town.
"Why would you spy on them?!"
"To see how they do, Duh, Wanna join?"
"...C'mon Skye, you know I can't do that to them"
"Don't you wanna know how they're doing, and maybe pick up a few tips if you ever fall in love and have a date yourself" Skye pointed out, although Marshall was a charmer to the females around. He still had no reason to go behind Gabriel's back and watch him on his big night. When Skye pointed out the excuse of the Male Dalmation finding Love, Everest started to secretly blush.
"..."
"...Well?"
"...Fine, but If I get caught, I am pinning this on you" Marshall exclaimed, fiercely stating that if he was going down, he was taking them down with him. Skye had no problem in being blamed for this as she was already pretty sneaky and learned not to get caught, Same with Everest.
Margareth and Gabriel both reach the front of Mr. Porter's Cafe, like the gentlepup he is, he steps in front and opens the door for her. She stepped inside for him to already be waiting for them. Leading them to a table without even asking. Gabriel pulled out a seat for Margareth before Mr. Porter was already in to make the food.
"What are they saying?" Everest, Skye, and Marshall all hid behind a bush that was at a decent distance from the cafe so they were not to be spotted. Everest couldn't read lips but by the looks of Chow Chow's face. He was getting nervous about what to say, on what not to say to be exact. Marshall observed him scratching the back of his head, looking off into the sky or random direction basically trying not to make eye contact. Marshall didn't want to sit down and watch, he wanted to help him.
"Aw man, This is really difficult to watch dude" All three pups froze when they heard the voice of familiar friends, that voice came from behind them while at an elevated platform. Everest, Skye, and Marshall turned around and looked up to see Marcus sitting comfy in a tree watching them.
"Marcus, What are you doing here?!" Marshall exclaimed while trying to keep his voice down and scold his cousin.
"I overheard Skye and Everest planning to follow Gabriel on his date, so I decided to join in on the fun" Marcus explained, Skye started to blush now that she was in close proximity to the Dalmatian. Everest started to slightly scoot the Cockapoo closer to Marcus. The male Dalmation didn't notice until feeling Skye's side touch his own, this is when he started to share the same blush across his muzzle. Both Marcus and Skye looked in opposite directions, trying to not make eye contact, and their blushes were visible to one another.
The four returned their gaze over to Gabriel and Margareth to see them already enjoying their meals, It was sort of weird on how he cooked that fast.
"Wow, that guy can cook fast" Marcus commented.
"Actually, made those meals before the date when I helped Gabriel prepare for all of this" This was true, Marshall helped the Chow Chow with all sorts of things, the flowers, the chocolates, the tips on what to say and not to say. But apparently, the tips weren't being in use according to what Marshall was seeing.
"Mmm, this is soo good" Margareth commented on the chef's food with her mouth full of steak and ribs, Barbecue sauce littered her cheeks and lips. Gabriel didn't see anything wrong with this as he didn't mind letting her get messy with her food. The Chow Chow was using a knife and fork as you usually do on his tough steak. But in the effort of the female Dalmatian biting a piece of her steak, she accidentally knocked over her glass of water, making the cold refreshing liquid spill all over on her.
"Oops" She expressed getting up from her chair to fully look at the dark stain on her red dress, Gabriel did the same to see how much it affected her dress until getting too close while slipping and falling down the floor by accidentally slipping on a piece of dress fabric that dragged behind her dress. Both pups fell to the floor, Gabriel was the first to get back up and offer his paw to help her back onto her four paws.
"I am so so sorry Margareth"
"No No, It's okay" She assured the Chow Chow.
"Ouch, that looked like it hurt" Skye commented, clearly seeing how Margareth and Gabriel fell flat on their face after slipping to the floor. Skye couldn't read lips but it looked like Gabriel was talking to her about something.
"O-Okay, he's talking to her, can't tell what they're saying but uhh...WAIT THEY'RE COMING THIS WAY!" Skye silently shouted to her friends before they all ducked down fully behind the bush or even straight up into it to conceal themselves from the two. Gabriel and Margareth both stepped out of the cafe, the female Dalmation held her paw to her head to ease the pain where she fell.
"Wait.. they're going through the park" Everest pointed out, Instead of walking back to the Lookout, Both the Dalmatian and Chow Chow were heading into the park.
"I think he's trying to make up for what just happened" Marcus offered his suggestion.
"Maybe..only one way to find out" Marshall stated before all of them got up and went to go follow the couple.
"Wow isn't that beautiful?" Gabriel stated before pointing his paw at the moon and the stars, it indeed was beautiful as Margareth's eyes beamed with glee.
"Look at those birds too" The female Dalmatian pointed out, looking up In the sky and seeing a flock of seagulls flying in formation over them. But unfortunately, as they passed by. A white splatter came raining down on the two. Both shielded themselves before it could reach them but when it did reach their bodies, their clothing was ruined. White stains littered on Margareth's red dress and Gabriel's tuxedo.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Gabriel fell to his knee and shouted to the birds in rage, unable to control his emotions. The Chow Chow picked up a rock and threw it at the birds. This was useless as the birds were already too far from the rock to hit them. But when you throw something, it has to land somewhere. The rogue rock in the sky instead hit a car window which caused the alarm to blare. Gabriel's heart dropped as he realized what he had done. He hung his head down in shame as Margareth put her paw on him in an assuring way.
"It's alright, besides, it's not like this can get any worse" As she said right on cue, it had started to rain hard down upon them. Gabriel and Margareth in reaction, tried to run to the nearest tree for protection against the rain falling from the clouds. This failed as in the process, Both of them slipped and fell into a pile of dirt which was now mud due to the hard rain. Margareth got up fast and headed over to the tree, but then realized that the Mechanic pup didn't follow. She looked back to see Gabriel sitting in the pile of mud with his head down, fully accepting his fate. He knew he couldn't save this date, it was basically a disaster in his eyes.
"Gabriel? What's wrong?" She retracted from the shade of the tree and backed out into the rain to confront her lover.
"EVERYTHING IS WRONG, THIS ENDED UP BEING A COMPLETE MESS, I WANTED TO HAVE A PERFECT AND PEACEFUL NIGHT WITH YOU, BUT THE WHOLE WORLD JUST DECIDED TO SCREW ME OVER FOR NO REASON!" Gabriel got up and shouted out to her, Margareth was taken aback as she did admit this whole date did a complete 180 into being what they now experienced.
"Oh Gabriel, this date wasn't a disaster, I had so much more fun and I sure enjoyed it too, sure my dress is ruined; but I don't want that to break us apart, I love you Gabriel, and I always will" The female Dalmatian stated before locking her lips with the Chow Chow. Gabriel didn't pull away as he closed his eyes and shared this moment. Suddenly a blanket wrapped itself around the two. They opened their eyes to see it was Marshall, Skye, Everest, and Marcus.
"Wha-What are you guys doing here?" Gabriel broke the kiss to ask his friend.
"Well, we were kinda spying on you two, just to see how it was going," Skye said nervously with a smile and scratching behind her head.
"Huh, I guess you saw how this turned out" Gabriel replied with a smirk before out of nowhere the trees that Margareth was once under, the sound of branches and leaves rusting started to become more clear as more members of the Paw Patrol came falling out. Zuma, Rocky, Rubble, Sebastian, and even Chase.
"Damn it" Chase mumbled to himself.
"How long have you guys been there?" Everest asked, totally shocked at how this turned out.
"Well aftew seeing Mawshall leave, we decided to follow too" Zuma explained before getting nods of understanding from the others that fell out of the tree with him.
"Well, I guess now that we all are here...MUD FIGHT!" Magareth silently scooped up a ball of mud and threw it at Zuma. All of them gasped before Zuma started to laugh and throw mud back. Everyone joined in and started throwing mud at each other. Sure this date was going well, but it was going great in their eyes. Gabriel pinned Margareth down into the mud, where they started to wrestle and laugh at the fun they were having. All of them stopped as they heard a loud whistle through the sounds of rainfall. The Paw Patrol turned their head to see Chase still standing there with his paws crossed and a face of disappointment. Of course, the German Shepherd wouldn't approve of this behavior and horseplay as he was the most responsible one. All of them fought for sure he was going to tell on all of them back to Ryder.
"You know Ryder isn't going to be happy finding out you all got dirty in the mud and enjoyed it" Chase stated, not one peep was heard from the other but before anything was said. A large grin grew on his face before chuckling.
"Oh well, who cares" Chase then jumped into the mud pile, and everyone was relieved and started to throw mud once again, With all the smiles around and laughing from all, this truly was more than a perfect date.