Request fic! =) Because I can't cut for some reason. XD;;
For (and prompted by)
technobubblegum. Rated PG for slight swearing and suggestiveness.
“Y’know, I don’t see why we can’t just go to the ramen shop like usual,” Kariya complained. The taxi smelled like cigarette smoke and beer-he didn’t even want to know what that stain on the carpet was-and it was far too cramped for his taste. Not to mention the stuffy black suit-and-tie combo a certain pink-haired Reaper had forced him into. Though he did appreciate the sleek black cocktail dress she’d gotten just for the occasion.
Uzuki rolled her eyes. “Because we are going on a real date this time. I still can’t believe you’ve never taken me to a nice restaurant before.”
“I thought you liked ramen.”
“Well, I-um, yeah, but-you know what I mean!”
Kariya smirked, twiddling one of his ever-present lollipops between his fingers. “No, I don’t, actually. What’s your definition of a ‘real date’?” Uzuki put a finger to her lips thoughtfully.
“Hmm… well, you’d take me out to a fancy restaurant, with candles and flowers in a vase on the table and nice, soft music, and we’d talk and laugh and gaze into each other’s eyes… y’know. Romantic stuff like that.”
“Huh. Sounds like a bad movie to me.”
Uzuki ignored him. “Ugh, honestly, Kariya, you can’t go in dressed like that.”
“…Dressed like what?” He shrugged innocently. “I wore the suit, like you-ahem-persuaded me to.” She just glared at him in reply.
Damn. And I thought I could get away without the tie.
“Oh, you’re right.” He glanced down at his clothes, clucking in mock disapproval. “Maybe I should just go in naked. You think they’d like that better? I know you would.”
“What?! You-you little-KARIYA!” Uzuki grabbed him by the collar and roughly buttoned his dress shirt all the way up-though she did find herself blushing, much to her dismay. She looped the tie around his neck and started to knot it as tightly as she could. Just to piss him off. Kariya let out a few strangled sounds of protest and tried to swat her hands away.
“Hey! I’ll get it-“
Too late. The dreaded tie was now in a secure Windsor knot around his neck. He was about to ask the girl where she’d learned to do that when she abruptly yanked the lollipop out of his mouth and tossed it out the window of the taxi. A triumphant smirk spread over her face as she surveyed her handiwork.
“There we go.”
Kariya sighed. This was going to be a long night.
---
Whatever Uzuki’s definition of a “nice restaurant” was, Phoenix Sunrise didn’t seem to fit the bill at first glance. Kariya was certainly no interior designer, but everything about it-from the fake crystal chandelier to the nubby orange carpeting-felt a little tacky. And to top it all off, the whole place smelled burnt. Or maybe that was because their table was right next to the kitchen door.
“This is… um… such a nice place, isn’t it?” The redhead could barely hear her over the jumble of clinking silverware, clanging pots and pans in the kitchen, and tinny piano music being played over the PA.
“What?”
“I said, this is such a nice place, isn’t it?”
“Whaaaat?”
“ISN’T THIS NICE?!” Uzuki screeched, and then noticed that she was garnering a few stares and sank back down in her seat. They sat in silence for a few long minutes, which Kariya passed pretending to look over the menu. Though he didn’t have much of an appetite anymore, with the burnt smell and all.
“Good evening, are we ready to order?” The waiter seemed to appear out of nowhere, almost making Kariya jump. Yet another reason he didn’t like these kinds of restaurants.
“Ah, yes, do you have any ramen?” he asked.
Uzuki hid her death glare behind a plastered-on smile. “We’ll both have the house salad.”
As soon as the waiter was out of earshot, the smile vanished.
“Kariya. We are in a nice restaurant,” she hissed at him from across the table.
“I’ve noticed.”
“You are going to order nice food.”
“…Ramen is nice.”
The pink-haired Reaper sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Honestly. I think you were raised by wolves or something.”
“Wolverines, actually. Many people think they’re just small wolves, but that’s a common misconcept-“
“Oh, look, our food’s here!” she cut him off. “That was… um… suspiciously fast.”
The waiter had returned, carrying two salad plates. “Careful, it’s hot.”
“What?!” Uzuki protested. “It’s sala-What the hell?!” She nearly jumped out of her seat when she realized that the salad was on fire.
Well, Kariya mused, that explains the burnt smell.
“What the-how-WHY IS THE SALAD ON FIRE?!” she screeched. “How am I supposed to eat this?!” The waiter just shrugged and walked away.
“It’s not just on fire. It’s flambé. And I thought I was the uncultured one here,” Kariya said, staring into the flames with vague interest. “Here, I’m not hungry.” He carefully slid his plate across the table to her.
“Thanks a bunch,” she deadpanned, hesitantly poking the flaming pile of greens with her salad fork. Finally, she stabbed a piece of lettuce with her fork and tried to blow on it to cool it down.
The next minute or so went by very fast. Instead of cooling down, the lettuce flew off the fork and onto the tablecloth, which caught fire surprisingly quickly. Uzuki lost it and viciously attacked the growing blaze with her napkin. Kariya would have wondered whether she was shrieking in fear or rage, but by then, he was too busy looking for a fire extinguisher. There! A flash of red caught his eye. He grabbed it and rushed back to the table.
“GETITGETITGETITGETIT-WAITHOLDONWHATTHEHELLSTOPSTOPSTOP!”
The low hiss coming from the fire extinguisher told Kariya that it was out of foam; hopefully that meant the fire was out. Slowly, carefully, he opened his eyes. He immediately regretted it. The sight wasn’t pretty; the fire was out, but their table-not to mention a few other ones nearby-was completely blanketed in foam. And standing in front of him, in all her white, fluffy glory, was Uzuki, covered head to toe in the stuff. She opened her mouth, as if about to say something, then closed it. Then she opened it again. And closed it again. This went on for several minutes, until she abruptly ran off. Kariya blinked, glanced around, set down the fire extinguisher, and followed her.
---
“Uzuki? Hellooo?” the redhead called, his voice echoing off the tiled walls of the restroom.
“What are you doing here?” Instead of the death glare he’d been expecting, her eyes were red and puffy, still wet with tears.
“…Well-“ he put a hand on her shoulder- “-I just wanted to say that… I’m sorry for spraying you with the fire extinguisher. Even if it was an accident.”
“…No, I mean, what are you doing in the women’s restroom?”
“We’ll discuss that later. Now, are you alright?”
Uzuki nodded slowly. Then, all of a sudden, she burst into tears again, wrapping her arms around Kariya in a bone-crushing hug.
“H-Hey! What’s the matter?” he choked out. “We’ve been-through worse than-a little-fire.”
“I-I-It’s not t-that,” she sobbed. “I-It’s just that-I never got the chance to go on a real date… before…”
“…I think I understand. I’m…I’m sorry.” He returned the embrace, if a little awkwardly; it wasn’t something he was used to, but it wasn’t bad, either. Something about the warmth of her hands against his back, her soft hair beneath his fingertips-it just felt right.
“I guess this ‘real date’ thing is just overrated,” she said at last.
“I guess so. You still up for ramen?”
“…Sounds delicious.” And for the first time that night, she smiled.
technobubblegum. Rated PG for slight swearing and suggestiveness.
“Y’know, I don’t see why we can’t just go to the ramen shop like usual,” Kariya complained. The taxi smelled like cigarette smoke and beer-he didn’t even want to know what that stain on the carpet was-and it was far too cramped for his taste. Not to mention the stuffy black suit-and-tie combo a certain pink-haired Reaper had forced him into. Though he did appreciate the sleek black cocktail dress she’d gotten just for the occasion.
Uzuki rolled her eyes. “Because we are going on a real date this time. I still can’t believe you’ve never taken me to a nice restaurant before.”
“I thought you liked ramen.”
“Well, I-um, yeah, but-you know what I mean!”
Kariya smirked, twiddling one of his ever-present lollipops between his fingers. “No, I don’t, actually. What’s your definition of a ‘real date’?” Uzuki put a finger to her lips thoughtfully.
“Hmm… well, you’d take me out to a fancy restaurant, with candles and flowers in a vase on the table and nice, soft music, and we’d talk and laugh and gaze into each other’s eyes… y’know. Romantic stuff like that.”
“Huh. Sounds like a bad movie to me.”
Uzuki ignored him. “Ugh, honestly, Kariya, you can’t go in dressed like that.”
“…Dressed like what?” He shrugged innocently. “I wore the suit, like you-ahem-persuaded me to.” She just glared at him in reply.
Damn. And I thought I could get away without the tie.
“Oh, you’re right.” He glanced down at his clothes, clucking in mock disapproval. “Maybe I should just go in naked. You think they’d like that better? I know you would.”
“What?! You-you little-KARIYA!” Uzuki grabbed him by the collar and roughly buttoned his dress shirt all the way up-though she did find herself blushing, much to her dismay. She looped the tie around his neck and started to knot it as tightly as she could. Just to piss him off. Kariya let out a few strangled sounds of protest and tried to swat her hands away.
“Hey! I’ll get it-“
Too late. The dreaded tie was now in a secure Windsor knot around his neck. He was about to ask the girl where she’d learned to do that when she abruptly yanked the lollipop out of his mouth and tossed it out the window of the taxi. A triumphant smirk spread over her face as she surveyed her handiwork.
“There we go.”
Kariya sighed. This was going to be a long night.
---
Whatever Uzuki’s definition of a “nice restaurant” was, Phoenix Sunrise didn’t seem to fit the bill at first glance. Kariya was certainly no interior designer, but everything about it-from the fake crystal chandelier to the nubby orange carpeting-felt a little tacky. And to top it all off, the whole place smelled burnt. Or maybe that was because their table was right next to the kitchen door.
“This is… um… such a nice place, isn’t it?” The redhead could barely hear her over the jumble of clinking silverware, clanging pots and pans in the kitchen, and tinny piano music being played over the PA.
“What?”
“I said, this is such a nice place, isn’t it?”
“Whaaaat?”
“ISN’T THIS NICE?!” Uzuki screeched, and then noticed that she was garnering a few stares and sank back down in her seat. They sat in silence for a few long minutes, which Kariya passed pretending to look over the menu. Though he didn’t have much of an appetite anymore, with the burnt smell and all.
“Good evening, are we ready to order?” The waiter seemed to appear out of nowhere, almost making Kariya jump. Yet another reason he didn’t like these kinds of restaurants.
“Ah, yes, do you have any ramen?” he asked.
Uzuki hid her death glare behind a plastered-on smile. “We’ll both have the house salad.”
As soon as the waiter was out of earshot, the smile vanished.
“Kariya. We are in a nice restaurant,” she hissed at him from across the table.
“I’ve noticed.”
“You are going to order nice food.”
“…Ramen is nice.”
The pink-haired Reaper sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Honestly. I think you were raised by wolves or something.”
“Wolverines, actually. Many people think they’re just small wolves, but that’s a common misconcept-“
“Oh, look, our food’s here!” she cut him off. “That was… um… suspiciously fast.”
The waiter had returned, carrying two salad plates. “Careful, it’s hot.”
“What?!” Uzuki protested. “It’s sala-What the hell?!” She nearly jumped out of her seat when she realized that the salad was on fire.
Well, Kariya mused, that explains the burnt smell.
“What the-how-WHY IS THE SALAD ON FIRE?!” she screeched. “How am I supposed to eat this?!” The waiter just shrugged and walked away.
“It’s not just on fire. It’s flambé. And I thought I was the uncultured one here,” Kariya said, staring into the flames with vague interest. “Here, I’m not hungry.” He carefully slid his plate across the table to her.
“Thanks a bunch,” she deadpanned, hesitantly poking the flaming pile of greens with her salad fork. Finally, she stabbed a piece of lettuce with her fork and tried to blow on it to cool it down.
The next minute or so went by very fast. Instead of cooling down, the lettuce flew off the fork and onto the tablecloth, which caught fire surprisingly quickly. Uzuki lost it and viciously attacked the growing blaze with her napkin. Kariya would have wondered whether she was shrieking in fear or rage, but by then, he was too busy looking for a fire extinguisher. There! A flash of red caught his eye. He grabbed it and rushed back to the table.
“GETITGETITGETITGETIT-WAITHOLDONWHATTHEHELLSTOPSTOPSTOP!”
The low hiss coming from the fire extinguisher told Kariya that it was out of foam; hopefully that meant the fire was out. Slowly, carefully, he opened his eyes. He immediately regretted it. The sight wasn’t pretty; the fire was out, but their table-not to mention a few other ones nearby-was completely blanketed in foam. And standing in front of him, in all her white, fluffy glory, was Uzuki, covered head to toe in the stuff. She opened her mouth, as if about to say something, then closed it. Then she opened it again. And closed it again. This went on for several minutes, until she abruptly ran off. Kariya blinked, glanced around, set down the fire extinguisher, and followed her.
---
“Uzuki? Hellooo?” the redhead called, his voice echoing off the tiled walls of the restroom.
“What are you doing here?” Instead of the death glare he’d been expecting, her eyes were red and puffy, still wet with tears.
“…Well-“ he put a hand on her shoulder- “-I just wanted to say that… I’m sorry for spraying you with the fire extinguisher. Even if it was an accident.”
“…No, I mean, what are you doing in the women’s restroom?”
“We’ll discuss that later. Now, are you alright?”
Uzuki nodded slowly. Then, all of a sudden, she burst into tears again, wrapping her arms around Kariya in a bone-crushing hug.
“H-Hey! What’s the matter?” he choked out. “We’ve been-through worse than-a little-fire.”
“I-I-It’s not t-that,” she sobbed. “I-It’s just that-I never got the chance to go on a real date… before…”
“…I think I understand. I’m…I’m sorry.” He returned the embrace, if a little awkwardly; it wasn’t something he was used to, but it wasn’t bad, either. Something about the warmth of her hands against his back, her soft hair beneath his fingertips-it just felt right.
“I guess this ‘real date’ thing is just overrated,” she said at last.
“I guess so. You still up for ramen?”
“…Sounds delicious.” And for the first time that night, she smiled.