The date

Nalé tapped her fingers anxiously against the soft sheets of her hospital bed.

Turns out, ignoring a situation doesn't make it go away.

Yami is still here, waiting for an answer.

She doesn't even know why she's so nervous, he's not gonna kill her or anything.

She trusts him, but she hasn't had the time to break down the information in a way that makes sense to other people.

Which is why she hasn't told him or the rest of the knights what she knows of their future.

"I had this dream…" she starts off slowly.

That gets Yami's attention.

He nods,motioning for her to continue her story.

"That told me about my magic."

He paused his smoking, expecting more than what she just gave him.

"That's it?" He looked at her, eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"Yes." She whispered. Her Ki wavered.

"I'll take that for now. Tell me the rest when you're ready." He says standing up, already on his way out of the room.

"Yes sir."

Before he leaves the room, he turns back to her, congratulating her on finally gaining magic.

Even though she'd buried herself in paperwork, and missions these past few months, he'd noticed her talking to the others about what she would do if she had magic someday, and he was glad that this day had finally come for her.

"I'll leave you to prepare yourself," he said, walking out of the room, "We'll be leaving for the base in 10 minutes."

"Ok." She says smiling, happy to be getting praise from her captain.

She's glad he pushed no further with the dream issue. He trusts her, and she'll make sure to remind herself over and over again that this isn't something she ever wants to break. Not his or the rest of her fellow Black Bulls' trust.

___________________________________________________________________________

It was already 4 in the afternoon by the time Nalé was done getting ready for her date with Finral.

She was just finishing up, checking for any imperfections in the mirror.

She rarely wore makeup as she never really left the base, and she never wore it to missions as they mostly required her to move, leading her to become a sweaty mess by the end.

But tonight, She went for a dewy, romantic theme with her makeup.

A light pink lip, layered with a minimally sparkly gloss. A dash of blush on the cheeks, followed by the same color for her eyeshadow, with the gloss being used on top to accentuate that dewy look.

She decided she'd go all out and cut her hair shorter. An impulsive decision, mind you.

She used a moisturizing gel she had created a few months prior on her hair to give it a wet look.

Finral had given her instructions to have at least 2 outfits(One casual , one fancy) as they would be visiting a number of different locations for the night.

The dress she's chosen to wear is a shade of pastel green, showing a great deal of her bust, with keyhole cutouts on the sides near her thighs.

Pale heeled sandals accompany the rest of her getup.

She brings the bag Vanessa had given her as a gift in order to carry her other outfit, and essentials.

Though the woman staring at the mirror had finished long ago, A total of 25 minutes had passed since she began to check things to make sure they were in order.

It was time to go.

___________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, a nervous man stood by the doorway of the base gazing at the forest surrounding it, fidgeting in, what must've looked like fright to the outside eye.

He had been standing there 20 minutes ahead of time, reassuring himself that she'd already agreed. How could he not be nervous? The only woman who had said yes to a date with him before this was the arranged marriage his parents had forced upon him. Now, this was something he had achieved on his own.

Back at the hospital, he remembered her saying this was a date between friends, and that did not dampen his mood at all. He knew not to cross that boundary. This would simply be a fun night for the both of them. It's not like his heart stutters when she looks at him with those big doe eyes. Nor does he really want to know what those pouty lips of hers taste lik-

"Finral?" A small voice questioned from behind him.

He quickly turned around, now snapped awake from his increasingly irrational train of thought.

"Finral?" Nalé asked again. Her sparkling glossy lips moving in slow motion in his point of view. This is bad, he thought. We haven't even gotten to the date part yet.

He coughed, recuperating his sanity.

"You look delightful, Nalé."

"Thank you, Finral."

She hooks her arms around his, and gazes at him, and excited smile sculpted on her face.

"Shall we go?"

He breathes in and out for a couple of seconds, and she carefully pats his back, patiently waiting.

After those few seconds. he gains some semblance of control.

"We shall."

___________________________________________________________________________

The fair was bustling at this time of night.

Parents held their kids' hands as they skipped, excited by the lively atmosphere of the area. And also because they might've had too much candy for one night.

Couples walked together lovingly, whatever arguments they might have had the night before forgotten and suppressed by the cheerfulness brought upon by the fair.

And in between all that was Nalé and Finral.

They scanned the fair for what they should do first. Finral had his hands in the pockets of his dark brown pants, whilst Nalé bounced around excited for her first ride in the Clover Kingdom.

"What's that one?!" she asked as she pointed towards one where a pair of people seemed to disappear into a hole.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "That's duck duck hole. It's a slide that goes underneath the Earth and allows you to see all the magical animals within it and when you come out you'll be at another part of the park."

"That sounds fun let's try it."

Finral allows himself to be pulled by the enthusiastic woman into the sliding area.

…

A loud scream Echoes through the tunnel, a few seconds into their ride, causing confusion for the rest of the people in the line.

…

So how was it? Finral asks, hand in front of his mouth holding himself back from laughing.

They were having a walk after their ride , walking in tandem with each other.

"Oh well I got to see a lot of cool animals so it was nice, except What The Fuck Was that?!" She screams suddenly.

He bursts into a fit of giggles. "wha- what do you mean?!"

"Why the fuck were there two giant snails Mating during that first section! I'm fucking traumatized now Finral, stop laughing!"

The man could hardly hold himself up, hitting the ground in agony as his stomach cramped harder, induced by his extreme need to keep laughing.

"You- your fucking expression was so- God, you have to stay away from me, or I'll keep laughing!"

Nalé looked down at him, smiling, and turned around running the opposite way, shouting, "Fine!"

He quickly got up, and ran her way though. He had the rest of a date to enjoy.

_________________________________________________________________________

It was the second part of their date.

Finral had taken her to the Black Market, and told her she could buy whatever she wanted.

She had turned to him with starry eyes hugging him tightly, then quickly pulling him to different sections of the market, ranting about all of the different products she could use for the Black Bulls benefits.

He had smiled every single minute of that time, loving the way her tone rose the more excited she was about something.

Throughout that time she had also given him tips on how to properly ask women for dates. He had been less enthusiastic about that part. But he listened nonetheless.

This date would not last forever after all

_____________________________________________________________________________

"How do I look?" She did a quick twirl for her date.

"Absolutely divine." He answered honestly.

For the last part of their date, she had quickly changed into a Puffy pastel purple dress with pastel heels and long golden Earrings.

This part of their date would consist of going to a fancy restaurant.

Should been hesitant at first, considering he spent a lot of money on her already at the market.

But he assured her that he had money to spare.

His family had been well off after all and it would take quite a lot for his bank account to empty.

After a few more minutes of coaxing, she had agreed.

And so here they were, seated at a high-end restaurant.

Charmy told me you really liked chicken, and this restaurant advertised their Chicken special for tonight, so I thought you might like it.

"How thoughtful of you. Thank you, Finral."

Within a few minutes of waiting, the first dish was served.

The sweet Waft of the Poulet de Provencal coated their noses, lulling them deeper into the atmosphere of the restaurant.

They stroke up a conversation.

"Have you ever thought of getting into drawing?" She asked, after swallowing a piece of her meal.

"Hm? Drawing? Not really. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you have to have been somewhere to remember it right? I'm sure that in your travels, you found something or someplace beautiful. It's a great way to revisit it, without spending energy actually going there."

"I see. he said, contemplative. "I'll keep it in mind."

They tried many dishes afterwards, and had countless of wonderful words to share between them.

But then the date had to come to an end eventually.

"Thank you for this wonderful night, Finral." She whispered, as they sat in front of the base's entrance, gazing at the stars.

"It was my pleasure, Nalé." He whispers back.

He sighed.

One of the most successful dates he's had, and it came to be with a friend.

How sad.

"Why do you want a girlfriend so much, Finral?" She questions softly.

"I would like someone who understands me, and supports me wholeheartedly, without needing something from me. I'd like someone to actually love me." He answers back, thinking back to his experiences with his family.

" A relationship goes both ways you can't expect someone to give you those things and not want something back. However, a relationship should also be kind. If you want love then give love. If you want support, then give support. I hope you find a relationship with that sort of balance and peace. "

"Me too." He whispers hoarsely, as he bites his lips, willing the tears away with all he has.

"Don't forget about our squad, we all love you. Lean into that love sometime, will you?" She says , wiping away the tears he hadn't noticed had been falling down all this time.

"I'm heading to bed now. Thank you again."

They share a soft, long hug, and Nalé strolls into the base, her heels creating a cacophony of clicks and clacks before eventually fading into silence.

Finral , meanwhile, stayed alone outside, contemplating further.