May 31st, 2013

Spongebob adjusted his bowtie as he looked in the mirror. He was wearing a fancy suit and making final preparations for his date with Emi. he turned to Gary and asked him,

"How do I look?"

Gary meowed, and Spongrbob smiled.

"Thanks, Gare-bear. Emi deserves my best!"

Speaking of which, Emi then entered the room through the door, wearing her usual kimono. Spongebob turned around and was surprised to see what she was wearing, and Emi nervously replied,

"Sorry. I don't have any other clothes that fit me…"

Spongebob smiled at her and replied,

"It's alright. You look beautiful no matter what you wear."

Emi blushed profusely at at this, and Spongebob then grabbed her hand and told her,

"Come on, let's go!"

Emi asked him to wait a second, but the sponge ignored her as he ran out the door dragging her along. It was late, so the sun was currently setting. Emi looked around in awe at the scenery, looking at the orange sky and the flowers that acted as clouds. Emi said in amazement,

"It's beautiful…"

Spongebob chuckled and replied,

"It sure is, isn't it? Almost as beautiful as you."

Emi giggled upon hearing this and told him,

"You're such a flatterer."

The 2 happily walked across the sidewalk, earning weird glances from the bottomites that were passing by. But neither cared. Eventually the 2 arrived at the fancy diner Spongebob was talking about, a giant ship in a bottle known simply as "Fancy!" Emi looked up at it and remarked,

"They didn't put much thought into the name, did they?"

"Yeah. but I guess it doesn't really matter."

The 2 then walked in and got tables for two, sitting down and then being approached by the waiter. The waiter looked at Emi in confusion and asked her,

"Excuse me ma'am, what exactly are you?"

Emi looked at him and casually responded,

"Oh, I'm a fox spirit. What are you?"

"A…fox spirit? I've never heard of that kind of fish before."

"Oh, I'm not a fish. Anyway, what're our options?"

After a moment of confusion, the waiter gave her and Spongebob the menu, and after looking at it, Spongebob told him,

"I'll have the coral salad and kelp drink."

The waiter then asked Emi what she wanted, and Emi looked at her menu carefully. After a few moments, she chuckled nervously and replied,

"I have no idea what any of these are."

Spongebob chuckled at this and told the waiter,

"She'll have what I'm having."

The waiter nodded and then walked off, leaving Spongebob and Emi to talk with each other. Spongebob asked her,

"So, how are you liking the ocean so far?"

Emi twirled her hair and replied,

"Well, it's been nice. It's so beautiful. I especially like the flower clouds."

"Yeah. They sure are beautiful. Almost as much as you."

"Hehe! Spongebooooob, you used that already~!"

Spongebob laughed, and he and Emi continued to talk as they waited for their food. As they did, Spongebob decided to ask a question that had been slightly irking him ever since the two met. He pointed to her necklace and asked her,

"I forgot to ask you this before, Emi, but…where did you get that necklace? You've never ever taken it off. Not even in the shower!"

Emi blushed and looked down at her necklace, and then told Spongebob,

"It….it was given to me by my mother. It allows me to be the same size as you and breathe water instead of air. The only downside is that I can't use my shapeshifting powers to turn into anything but this form."

"So your saying that if you didn't have that pendant on, you could turn into anything you wanted."

"Yeah. You, the waiter, even the table!"

"That's alright. I like you just the way for are."

Emi blushed at this and placed her hands on her cheeks, giggling cutely. She wagged her tail in happiness and told her now boyfriend,

"You're so sweet~!"

For the first time in what felt like forever, Emi was genuinely happy. In fact, they were so immersed in their conversation that after about 25 more minutes of talking, she and Spongebob jolted in surprise when the waiter arrived with their food. The waiter told them to enjoy their food, and Spongebob began chowing down.

Emi looked at him and then the food, putting her fork in it and taking a huge bite out of it. After crunching the food in her mouth and swallowing it, Emi remarked,

"Hmm. Crunchy. I like it."

She then began eating the coral as well, finishing all of it in only a few minutes before slurping the kelp drink. However, she spit it out and yelled,

"What the heck is this?!"

The waiter responded,

"It's kelp juice, madame."

"Well it tastes icky!"

"So I assume you want a refund?"

"...What's a refund?"

Spongebob chuckled nervously and then explained to Emi what a refund was, which surprised Emi. the waiter then asked if she would like a different drink, and Emi responded,

"I'll just have water, thanks."

"Yes, ma'am."

The waiter left and was soon back with a jug and full glass of water and several smaller cups. He set it on a table, told the two to call him if they needed anything more, and then walked away. As Emi poured her first glass, she asked Spongebob,

"So how do you guys have drinking water when you already live underwater?"

"I already told you when we first met, Emi! Bikini Bottom works in mysterious ways."

The two laughed and continued eating. They asked for more and more food, and after 3 hours, the two were absolutely stuffed. The waiter asked if they would like anything more, but Emi told him,

"I…couldn't eat…another….biiiii-"

Emi then fell over backwards, falling asleep from all the food. Spongebob jumped in surprise at this, and then told the waiter,

"We've had enough, thank you. we'll be going now."

Spongebob then got up and picked Emi up in a bridal position, then reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. He opened it and pulled out some money that he borrowed from his squirrel friend Sandy. He had only told her that he was going out to eat and needed money. He wanted Emi to be a surprise when he eventually showed her to her.

The sponge carried his date out of the building despite struggling with her weight. Once he reached his pineapple home, he kicked open the door and began walking upstairs. Gary meowed, asking him how his date went, and Spongebob giddily responded,

"It went great, garebear! We ate and talked and ate and talked and ate and talked-!"

Gary meowed at Spongebob, telling him to calm down as Emi stirred from the noise. She groggily siad,

"Mamaaaa, I don't wanna take a baaaath~"

Spongebob looked down at her and noticed her curling her arms like a cat. However, she didn't wake up. Spongebob smiled softly and made his way to his bedroom. He hoisted her over his shoulder and opened the door, walking in and placing Emi on the bed. The fox girl curled up and hugged her tail, earning an awe from Spongebob.

He patted her head gently, and in response she giggled and wagged her tail. Spongebob laughed at this, and continued doing it for a few more minutes, before stopping and getting on the bed as well. He pulled the blanket over both of them and lay down. Remembering what Emi said about kissing him being like kissing a pillow, Spongebob lifted Emi and placed her on his stomach, serving as a makeshift mattress.

Spongebob then ruffled her hair and told her,

"Good night, Emi."

Spongebob then drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Gary, observing Spongebob and Emi with a smile on his face, was incredibly proud. He quietly meowed, which when translated meant, 'Good job, Papabob', and then went to sleep as well.