Slayers Fantasy 5.5 - Tenal's Dating Blues

Slayers Fantasy 5.5
Too Many Girlfriend's - Tenal's Dating Blues

   There would be no rest for the weary on Terra following the defeat of the interdimensional threat of the Phantoms. Well, ok, no rest for one weary soul named Tenal Griffen, who had to figure what to do on his date with one Tiskili Romeron. The lack of rest for other people in Balamb Garden would be from Tenal asking for advice from just about each and every one of them. Time untl the date was two days and counting.
   "Who to ask, who to ask?" Tenal asked himself as he passed the dock near Balamb harbor, "There are so many people who I could ask about things like this, and yet I'm too embarrassed to ask any of my close friends. Oy vey," he sighed, stopping in mid pace, "this is not going to be good. What if I mess up on my first impression? What if I have food trapped in my teeth? What if I have to engage in combat during our date and I fall on my face?"
   He sighed again and resumed his pacing. As he neared the street end of the dock two things happend: 1) his stomach rumbled and 2) he spotted Alex waiting in line at an outdoor cafe. He decided at that moment to kill two birds with one stone by getting advice and lunch at the same time.

   "Alex, what is the secret to making someone happy?" Tenal asked over a rather healthy lunch of salad and sandwiches. "I mean, how do you get someone to like you like you, not just like you?"
   "Cheesecake," Alex replied before popping a fork full of cheesecake into his mouth. "Definitely cheesecake."
   "Say what?" Tenal asked, arching an eyebrow as Alex continued to eat his dessert.
   "Cheesecake is the key to happiness," Alex replied nonchalantly. "Well, cheesecake and chocolate."
   Tenal pondered for a minute. Would Tiskili really like him if he brought her a cheesecake? Did she even like cheesecake? Or chocolates? Did she prefer creamy centers, chewy, or an assortment? "Would Kili like me if I gave her either of those?" he finaly asked. A piece of cheesecake fell back onto Alex's plate, and the mage set his fork down a moment later.
   "You're still trying to impress Tiskili?" he asked, folding his hands and propping his chin upon them.
   "Yeah, but... but I don't know what to do!"
   "Just be yourself," Alex replied, grinning, "if she really likes you then it won't matter about gifts or cheesecake."
   A sweat drop formed on Tenal's head, and he decided it'd be better to ask around than rely upon the responses of someone who ate as much cheesecake as Alex did.

   "So you want to know the key to impressing someone you like?" Celia asked, gazing out at Balamb Bay, which was reflecting the sunset.
   "Well, not so much impress her as what to do on the date," Tenal replied, taking a seat next to the vampyress.
   "What's she like?"
   Tenal closed his eyes and pictured Tiskili in her street / battle clothes. Tight black leather pants, platform boots, a pink midriff top, and a form fitting black leather jacket, with her red hair pulled back in a ponytail. He smiled and explained this to Celia, who rolled her eyes a little.
   "I meant, what is she like personality wise?"
   "She's sweet and caring and not afraid to speak her mind and be emotional."
   "Would she like anything Alex talked about over lunch?"
   Tenal sweatdropped. "Not really. She likes it spicy, with a little bit of sweet. Cheesecake wouldn't be on the top of her list of favorite foods or things."
   "So scratch the cheesecake and chocolates. Does she like flowers?"
   "Yeah... she likes them. Geraniums at times.... roses.... violets.... lilacs. Petunias as well."
   "Can you take her someplace filled with them?"
   "The botanical gardens near the town."
   Celia smiled at Tenal, who blushed a little under the gaze of her emerald eyes. "She's going to be a very lucky girl," the vampyress said, clapping a hand on his shoulder.
   "But what do I do about dinner?"
   "Go for Thai or Indian," Celia replied, smirking, "right now I need to meet Zel and Alex for dinner at a nice little cafe."
   She vanished into a cloud of crimson smoke, which dissipated after a second. Tenal rose and sighed, glancing across the bay at the setting sun. Who else could he talk to?

   "Seifer - sempai, what is your secret for a successful relationship?" he asked later that night while hanging out in the lounge used by many of the teachers and upperclassmen. Seifer had parts of his gunblade around him. Irvine was there as well, parts of his shotgun littering the floor near the parts of Seifer's gunblade.
   "Let your partner do what they want now and then," Seifer replied.
   "And treat them like royalty," Irvine added.
   "But what about paying for dinner?" Tenal asked, looking at the two professors.
   Seifer and Irvine looked at each other and shrugged. "Go Dutch," they said in unison.
   "Say what?"
   "Pay for half," Seifer explained, "that way you don't insult her and you're treating her as an equal."
   "But if you want to be romantic, pay for her dinner," Irvine added with a wink, "and buy her a dessert or two. Something sensual."
   "Just stay away from cheesecake," Seifer smirked, "Alex has that dessert on the brain sometimes."
   Tenal gave them both a puzzled look. "How did you know I spoke with Alex? You're the second and third people to say that."
   "Alex is a little loud at times," Seifer chuckled.
   "Especially when you nibble on the back of his neck in a certain spot," Irvine added.
   Tenal gawked at Irvine, and Seifer simply groaned and tossed a dirty rag at him, which smacked the cowboy in the face.
   "Forget he said that," Seifer sighed as he began to reassemble his gunblade, "but just be yourself and she'll like you for that."
   "So did that work for you guys?" Tenal asked, playing with the end of his sock.
   "Well, sort of," Irvine replied, "our relationship is a long story."
   "And very personal," Seifer added, "but we may share the tale later."
   Tenal sighed as he stood up to leave. Was there anyone in the entire world he could talk to about this situation?

   "You want to ask me about WHAT?!" Lina coughed, nearly choking on her soda the following day.
   "Well, you have that blond guy following you around like a sick puppy, and he seems to like you a lot," Tenal replied, fearing for his life since the red headed sorceress liked to fireball now and ask questions later.
   "Gourry and I are just friends," Lina replied, "Sylphiel is more his type. Or Amelia. Not me."
   "But you ugys seem like such a cute couple," Tenal said, sipping his own soda.
   "We're just friends. Partners in destruction and decimation. Co-workers. There is nothing romantic between us."
   "Hey Lina," Gourry huffed as he ran up to them, dripping wet and wearing only a pair of shorts, "Lina, I found something for you."
   'Probably a jellyfish to match his brain,' Lina thought, looking up at Gourry. "Well, what did you find?"
   Gourry set down a bottle that glowed pale blue. He smiled at Lina, who looked skeptically at the bottle. "What is it?" the sorceress asked, handing it to Tenal.
   "Just a bottled essence of Ultima," Tenal replied casually, handing the bottle back to Lina. "You drink that and you'll be able to cast the most powerful spell in our magic system."
   Lina leapt up, gave Gourry a big hug and a kiss on each cheek, sat back down, and proceeded to down the contents of the bottle. A moment later she sprang up and hugged Gourry again. "Thank you!" she exclaimed, kissing him again. "I love you Gourry. You're the greatest!"
   "Not a couple my ass," Tenal sighed as he walked off, still drinking his soda. "She's scary."

   "So, you're finally coming to the source?" Mina asked, skipping through songs for a dance game she was about to play with Rinoa. "You finally came to ask the goddess of love about what a girl really wants?"
   "Well, sort of," Tenal replied from where he sat on the couch with Squall, Zell, and Selphie. "I just really want to know how to imporess her, sweep her off of her feet, and show her a good time."
   "No cheesecake," everyone replied in unison. Tenal sweatdropped.
   "Just be yourself," Mina replied, clicking through the second set of songs, "you know where to go and what to eat and all that stuff."
   "Yeah," he sighed, kicking off his boots and putting his feet up, "I just want to know how people meet and fall in love."
   "Start with washing your socks every now and then," Selphie said, holding her nose. "Phee - eeewww."
   "Song selected," Rinoa said, stamping her pad. "Ready Lockheart?"
   "Born ready Heartily," Mina replied, hastily tying another ribbon at the end of her long blond hair to keep it in place.

<music: 'Freckles' - Tiggy>

   "What am I gonna do, if I can't get through counting all these freckles in my life," Mina and Rinoa sang as they danced out the rhythm that was displayed on the screen.
   "I get next song," Zell proclaimed. He found himself on the business end of a pillow a moment later, courtesy of Selphie.
   "I called next song before you two showed up," Selphie growled, "Besides, it's ladies first."
   "I don't see any ladies around here except for the two on the pads," Zell replied sarcastically.
   Tenal winced as Selphie smacked Zell hard enough to knock him out of the chair and halfway across the floor. Selphie giggled and shrugged before using a rather overused song line. "Oops... I did it again."

   "So just why are you asking me this?" Boomer asked as she worked on the repairs to Alex's and Tina's cars, "why not ask someone with more experience in this area, like Tina or that Adderson guy that Alex hangs with?"
   "Well, I tried talking to Mina, since she's the goddess of love," Tenal sighed, sitting on the hood of the second truck.
   "Didn't work too well, did it?" Boomer asked, kicking a nearby boombox. The stereo turned on and began blaring a song from the dance game that Mina had been playing.
   "It's my generation, feel the rhythm of the nation," Boomer sang as she resumed working on the cars. "Take my hand, to understand."
   "She was playing this game while I tried talking to her," Tenal said, hopping down.
   "Well, you could always try the game and get advice that way," Boomer replied, "or you can take Tiskili to the arcade and play some there."
   Tenal arched an eyebrow. Did Kili like to dance? Would she be interested? "Oy vey," he sighed, scratching his head. "So confused. So many questions."
   "You could always try calling one of those phone psychics or something akin to that," Quistis said as she strode across the room, "or you could write to one of those radio shows and have your question answered on air."
   "I'd prefer to avoid the last option," Tenal said, blushing a little from embarrassment.
   "You don't have to sign your real name to your letter," Boomer said, "I've written a few times and I always sign under a pseudonym."
   "Yours are too easy to figure out, Miss Bubblegum Pop," Quistis said. Boomer blushed uneasily, since the teacher knew about the student.
   "That was supposed to be a secret," Boomer sniffed, "Please don't tell anyone."
   "Your secret is totally safe with me," Quistis replied, "and I'm pretty sure it's safe with you as well Tenal."
   Tenal nodded quite a bit to get the point across that Boomer's secret would be safe with him.
   "So just how long until your date?" Boomer asked, giving Alex's car a good swift kick in the bumper, which chose that moment to fall off and land on her foot.
   "Tomorrow night," Tenal yawned, stretching back, "I'm still no closer to finding an answer than I was when I began."
   "Skip the cheesecake," Quistis advised.
   Tenal bowed his head before shouting at the top of his lungs, "What the hell is it with cheesecake?!"
   "Did someone mention cheesecake?" Alex asked, sticking his head into the room.
   "No, they didn't," Boomer growled, her hands glowing, "so unless you have something to ask me pertaining to vehicles or mechanics, get the hell outta my space!"
   "Tina wanted to know when the cars would be ready," Alex said, smacking his forehead, "how are repairs coming?"
   Boomer sighed and shook her head, "Your car, my firend, is kaput. The shocks are toast, the fenders are bent, the muffler went, the radio is ok, even though it only gets some national public radio station, and I can't find glass to fit the windshield or anything of the sort."
   "So my car is...." Alex pressed, not taking the hint.
   "A very pretty red hunk of shit," Boomer said bluntly, "you could get some money on a trade in since it is, or, well, was a classic, but there's more damage than I know how to fix."
   "Did you call Washu?" Alex asked, tears welling up in his eyes.
   "It's toast," Washu's voice boomed through the garage. "Kaput. No go. Will not run. In other words, it has checked out and left no forwarding address."
   "Aw shit," Alex sighed as he walked out, head bowed in despair, "I'm going to go and glut on some chocolate and cheesecake."
   "And the bullshit of the day award goes to Boomer and Washu, for their rendition of 'your car is toast and you're fucked'," Quistis smirked as Tenal went goggle eyed. "I applaud your performance."
   "T'ain't nothin' special," Washu said, adopting a southern twang, "just gotta know how to push his buttons. But the car won't survive much longer, even with the repairs."
   "And this is where I exit like my life depends upon it, which is probably true in the case of Alex and his car," Tenal said, making a beeline for the door. "Bye."

   Later on he stopped at the arcade in the mall, wondering if it was such a good idea to hold Tiskili to the promise she had made under pressure and duress.
   "Might as well check out that dance game while I'm here," he said to himself as the doors hissed shut behind him. He blinked in the artificial twilight and felt the urge to cover his ears against the noise from all of the people in the area. "Or I could reconsider everything, move to Outer Trabia, and become a chocobo herder."
   He immediately pushed that idea and any doubts out of his head, took a deep breath, and marched deeper into the building, towards the location of loud dance type music.
   The flashing lights of the machine caught his attention, and drew him onward, like a Venus Flytrap baiting a hungery fly. He stopped and stared at the demo level flashing on the screen; at all of the flashing arrows that made their way to the top in time to the song. Harsh mistriss that the game may have been, he knew he had to play it or risk losing his mind.
   "Oh great dance goddess, smile upon me today," he said under his breath as he ascended the platform and pulled a couple of coins from his coat pocket. He dropped the coins into the slot and pressed the button to start, a loud sound system check blowing his hair back.
   "Select your character," the game chimed in a male tenor. Tenal clicked through the characters, shrugging before selecting the wildcard spot.
   "Select your game mode."
   Tenal clicked to Single Player and the machine chimed. "Single player," before showing a screen detailing what a hold arrow was.
   "Select difficulty."
   Tenal clicked the easiest level the screen displayed, and the machine chimed, "Light mode," before bringing up the first song select screen.
   "What should I choose for a song?" he asked nobody in particular as he clicked his way through the songs.
   "Something with an easy beat you can get used to dancing," a female voice giggled, which caused Tenal's heart to jump up into his throat. He turned his head to find a girl who looked like she was crossed with either a cat, a squirrel, or both. She smiled and waved at him. "Hello."
   "Gah!" Tenal said, recoiling a little in shock, which caused the girl to cock her head and study him with big blue eyes.
   "Is something wrong?" she asked, her tail forming a question mark.
   "No, nothing," Tenal replied, calming down a little, "just feeling a little stressed. Say, didn't you come here with the Slayers group?"
   "Yup," the girl smiled, "I arrived with Miss Lina, Miss Naga, my friend Ihrie, and Mister Alex and everyone else." She giggled a little and stuck her tongue out. "How sill yof me. Forgot to introduce myself. I'm Fam."
   "I'm Tenal," Tenal said, shaking her hand. He turned his head in time to see the clock ticking down on the song select. "Oh hell."
   "Allow me," Fam said, dropping a couple of coins into the machine. She clicked through her options and began to click through song select and came to a remix of 'Toxic'. "This work for you?"
   Tenal listened for a moment, raising his hands into the air to get his groove on. "Yeah," he said after a moment, "this works great."
   "Start," Fam said, hitting the start button.

<music: 'Toxic (high speed remix)' - B. Spears>

   "Show me your hottest moves," the game said, stars crossing a black screen before showing the song title selected. A dark haired young man in a tux (minus the jacket) and a young woman with long blond hair in pigtails wearing a sailor fuku appeared on the screen and began to dance with the music.
   "Wow," Tenal said, hitting the arrows on the pad he ewas on in tme to the arrows scrolling up the screen. "This is difficult."
   "Difficult but fun," Fam said, moving her arms in time with the beat. "Rock on!"
   "You gotta stay on top of the beat," Tenal said, spinning around while he was on a hold arrow. "Bitchin'!"
   The song came to an end and both dancers leaned back to catch their breaths while the machine added up their scores. "Not bad," the machine stated, revealing a 'B' for Tenal and a 'C' for Fam.
   "Not bad for a difficult song on normal," Fam smirked as the song select screen reappeared.
   "You chose normal?" Tenal asked, "no wonder you had more arrows than I did."
   "You can select the next song," Fam said, leaning against the bar at the back of the platform.
   "Something fast all right?" Tenal asked as he clicked through the screens. Fam nodded. "How does 'Neverending Story' sound?"
   "Sounds good," Fam said as Tenal started the song. She lost herself in the song, hitting arrows like she didn't care if they were perfects, goods, or even misses. She loved the music and the fun of the game.
   "Shake your groove thang, you sexy boy," Alex's voice said through a chuckle. Tenal's face instantly turned bright red.
   "And Fam Girl can dance too," Seifer's voice chuckled as well.
   "They're good," Delwynndwn added, "but you think they can top our moves Alex?"
   "I doubt it," Alex said smugly, "but let's see how they do on their last song."
   "Two words," Fam said angrily, clicking through the songs in a rapid fire manner, "Bring. It."
   Boom.
   "Show me your hottest moves!"

<music: 'Luv U More'>

   Fam and Tenal fell into rhythm faster than they had for the two previous songs, their feet hitting the metal pad in perfect unison. Alex, Del, and Seifer stared in awe as both dancers racked up a massive combo.
   "They're good," Del commented.
   "They're naturals," Alex smirked.
   "Make me love you more," Fam and Tenal sang as both hit the last hold arrow. Those who were watching applauded as the two newcomers stepped down.
   "Going to be a tough act to follow," Alex said, stepping onto the platform.
   "You do realize I can't do maniac quite yet," Del commented as he dropped some coins into the machine.
   "Who said I was dancing maniac?" Alex asked, clicking through options in rapid fire fashion, "we're just going to make them think we're doing maniac."
   Del arched an eyebrow at Alex, who was already going through song listings. "What are you..."
   "This is a really good song," the machine interrupted.

<music: 'Totgenki Love Heart (Para Para remix)' - Firebomber>

   "Alex, I'll slay you later for this," Del muttered under his breath as he fought to keep up with the arrows that scrolled rapidly up his side of the screen.
   "Gotta admit you're doing quite well," Alex said as he hit perfects and greats, "Better under pressure than I figured you'd be."
   A minute later the song ended, with Alex netting a full combo while Del fell off of the platform, his abdominal muscles screaming in agony from the sudden workout.
   "Pain," Del coughed, "West, you're dead."
   "You love me too much to fry me," Alex smirked.
   "And I'm leaving before it gets any stranger," Tenal said, heading for the door. "Call me later when you figure things out."

   Home was where the heart was, and as soon as Tenal was in his room he locked the door and slumped down against it. "Hell," he said under his breath, "that wasn't much help. If anything I'm more confused than anything."
   He glanced up at his phone, where a light was blinking to indicate he had a new voice message. With trembling fingers he pressed the 'play' button.
   "Hey Tenal, it's Tiskili..."
   'Oh gods.'
   "So, um, how are you doing? You geared up about our date tomorrow?"
   'Only thing I've thought about.'
   "What do you have in mind for activities and food?"
   'No bloody idea on either count.'
   "Um... listen, I gotta run, but I have my mobile on me if you want to talk or something."
   'Talking would be great. Talking would be even better if thinking wasn't involved.'
   "My number is...."
   'Oh hell! Pen.... paper.... crap!'
   "Hope to hear from you soon." click.
   "Damn," he groaned under his breath, "damn, damn, damn."
   The phone rang, startling him out of his pity party. With still shaking hands he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

   "Hey there handsome, it's me."
   "Oh. Tiskili, hi. What's up?"
   "Nothing much. On break from command room duty. Figured I'd check in to see what was up."
   "Nothing really." scratching of back of head.
   "Tenal?"
   "Yes?"
   "What do you have planned for our.... you know... date?"
   Uneasy shifting of weight from foot to food. "Dunno really. What would you like to do?"
   "Dunno myself. Was hoping you'd have a plan, since you were always asking me out and stuff."
   Straining of brain to come up with something intelligent. "How about we take in the botanical gardens in the late afternoon, followed by sunset on Balamb Harbor, dinner at a nice Thai bistro place, and maybe some DDE at the arcade."
   Unbelievably and painfully long pause as Tiskili studies her nails.
   "Sounds like a plan."
   Huge sigh of relief. "Great. Meet ya at the front gates at six?"
   "Five thirty would work better for me, if that's ok with you?"
   "Great. See you then."
   "Ok. Bye."
   "Bye."

He set the phone down, took a deep breath, and collapsed back onto his bed to look at the ceiling. A moment later he sat up and blurted out, "What the hell am I going to wear?!"

<music: 'Dress You Up (In My Love)' - Madonna>

   Around three the following day Tenal opened his closet and began to browse for the perfect date outfit. He turned up his nose at the multiple sets of leather pants and leather coats. Heaving a huge sigh he picked up the phone and called a trusted friends.
   "Karna."
   "Tenal? What do you want?"
   "I need help to figure out what to wear on my date."
   Rolling of eyes. "Wear what you always do."
   "But that's so... typical."
   Growl of irritation. "What are the plans?"
   "Botanical gardens, romantic sunset, bistro dinner, arcade."
   Really big grumbling sigh. "I have no idea what you have in your closet, but why don't you ask the restident fashion experts?"
   "Who?"
   "Hottest threesome to hit Garden ever!"
   A knock sounded at Tenal's door, and he opened it while still on the phone. Alex, Seifer, and Irvine stood outside his door, all three in SeeD uniform with fashion police badges on their shoulders.
   "Karna, I have to call you back," Tenal said, staring blankly at the thre guys standing outside his room. He clicked his phone off and continued to stare. "May I help you?"
   "We're your official consultants for your date tonight," Alex beamed, grinning from ear to ear.
   "Only the three of you?" Tenal asked, arching an eyebrow.
   "Alex has clothes, I have hair," Irvine bubbled, "Seifer will take care of your pad..."
   "And anything that has gained sentient life," Seifer commented, looking under Tenal's bed.
   "But only the three of you?" Tenal repeated.
   "Zel is off checking out restauraunts, and Guile is taking care of other details."
   "And now I'm worried," Tenal sighed as Alex opened his closet and dove right in.
   "This may take a while," Irvine said, playing with Tenal's hair, "just how much time do we have to work with?"
   "I'm meeting her at five thirty," Tenal stated, stamping his foot to get their attention.
   "Whirlwind rush job," all three uninvited guests nodded, Irvine hussling Tenal out the door towards the shower.
   "Start with the wash up and hair," Alex instructed, "I'll have an outfit waiting when you return."
   "But..." Tenal began to say in protest as Seifer slammed the door in his face.
   "Time is wasting," Irvine said, steering Tenal back towards the showers. "Have some faith in us."

   A little over two hours latter tenal stood in the center of his spotless bedroom, resisting the urge to either scream or scratch his fingers through his ultra hold spiked hair. He was looking into a full length mirror, checking the fit of the outfit Alex had assembled for him. Baggy blue - black jeans, black combat boots, a loose fitting V-neck button down shirt of black and gray with a blue and white dragon motif across the chest. Alex had even gone as far as to paint his fingernails jet black and add a couple of studded leather bracelets and a studded leather collar.
   "I'd say you're presentable," Alex purred in his ear, "now go out and have a good time."
   "But?" Tenal protested, turning up his nose at his reflection, "These pants just aren't me."
   "So what is you?"
   Tenal opened his closet door, kicked off the boots, stepped inside, and closed the door behind him. A moment later he opeend the door again, tossed the baggy jeans out, and stepped out wearing leather pants and blood red silk dress shirt, with a leather coat over it. "Much better."
   "But that's so...." Alex stammered.
   "Comfortable," Tenal smirked, poofing his bangs a little before sliding a pair of red lensed sunglasses on the top of his head. "Why bother with an outift that I don't like on a date with a girl I like a lot?"
   "But..."
   "We'll leave you be," Seifer said as he and Irvine carred Alex out of the door.
   As the doors closed Tenal breathed a sigh of relief. It was almost 5:30 and he was ready for his date. His stomach was flip flopping about, his pulse was racing, and his palms were sweating, which was pretty normal when one was nervous.
   "And I am out the door," he said, opening his door to find Anessa standing outside, her hand raised to knock. "Anessa?"
   "Um... were you on your way out?" Anessa sked, blushing with embarrassment.
   "I was on my way to meet Tiskli for dinner," Tenal replied, "Why? Is something wrong?"
   He watched Anessa lower her gaze to the floor, something she did whenever something was bothering her. "No. Nothing. Nothing at all. I just wanted to see if you had dinner plans."
   The quiet tone she took shen speaking made Tenal wonder if Anessa had feelings for him. He nervously scratched the back of his head before putting a reassuring hand on Anessa's shoulder. "Let's do dinner another night, ok? I'll call you or you can call me. Deal?"
   Anessa looked up into his eyes and smiled. "Deal," she said, "enjoy your dinner with Tiskili, and give her my best."
   "Will do," Tenal replied, giving Anessa a thumbs up before dashing for the front doors and the botanical garden.
   He arrived precisely at 5:30, hot and out of breath, his stomach performing a full acrobatics routine, his heart hammering in his chest. He looked around, his gaze falling on Tiskili as she stepped down the walk like a goddess in black leather.
   "Wow," he gasped as she approached, "Hello gorgeous."
   "Hello yourself, handsome," Tiskili purred, stopping to admire tenal, "you look stunning."
   "So do you," he managed to say, checking out the leather biker boots, mini skirt, jacket, and pink midriff top that Tiskili wore. "Wow. I'm just.... wow."
   "Tenal, you've sen this outfit a hundred times," she giggled.
   "Yes, but that was before you agreed to go out with me," he said, hoping to sound witty. "Now it is like the robes on a goddess."
   Tiskili blushed and wrapped herself around his arm. "So, my knight in black leather, shall we set off for the gardens?"
   "We shall," Tenal replied, leading the way to the botanical gardens.

   Fifteen minutes and a couple of wrong turns later they arrived at the botanical gardens. Being rather late in the afternoon on a weekday the crowd was minimal, giving them more or less free reign of the floral displays. They walked, still arm in arm, through the various climate regions the gardens had set up for the wide variety of platns.
   "These flowers are so mega gorgeous," Tiskili commented, gazing at a small bunch of pale pink star shaped blossoms, "I've never seen anything like these."
   "Starberry," Tenal said, reading the name of the plant, "when the flowers fall off, star shaped berries will grow in their place, changing from pale pink to opalescent in nature, which is how one indicates they're ripe."
   "Gotta wonder how starberries taste," Tiskili commented.
   "I think the gift shop sells starberry jam," Tenal said, gazing at a vine covered in blue blossoms with a very strong odor. He began sniffing at the air, wondering if his deodorant had worn off. "What is that.... strange odor?"
   "It's from that vine," Tiskili giggled, leaning over to read the card on the display, "Retchvine. Attracts insects with the smell of..."
   She stopped reading and began to giggle. Tenal crouched down to read the placard before chuckling. "Body odor," he said between breaths, "nasty."
   "That's not B.O.," Tiskili laughed, falling backwards, "that's B-oh-my-god!"
   Both began laughing louder, and quickly moved on to other sections of the building before getting into trouble.
   "Body odor," Tenal said under his breath as they entered an arctic region, sending both into renewed fits of laughter.
   "Stretchpants," Tiskili retorted, beginning a contest of randomness.
   "Bellybutton lint."
   "Fishbutt."
   "Fishbutt?"
   "Fishbutt."
   "Underpants gnomes."
   "And that's where I draw the line," Tiskili sighed, drying her eyes, which were wet from laughing so hard. She gazed across the arctic landscape at a single silvery blossom that glittered in artificial starlight. "What's that?"
   "Aurora Blossom," Tenal said, reading the placard on the railing, "blooms in the frozen tundra regions once every ten years, and only for the period of one lunar cycle."
   "So we got lucky to see this wonder of nature," Tiskili said whimsically, "it's gorgeous."
   "It shines like a thousand rainbows, but isn't anywhere as beautiful as you," Tenal said with a poetic air.
   "I don't know if I should feel flattered or sad that you insulted the beauty of a rare flower," Tiskili chuckled.
   Tenal blushed. "I was only trying to say your beauty is as rare as that flower's," he pouted.
   Tiskili leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Now that's a compliment I like," she said, looping her arm through his, "now how about that romantic sunset?"
   Tenal blinked for a moment, his brain catching up to what was happening around him. Had Tiskili just kissed him? At the mention of the sunset reality kicked back in, and he smiled. "Let's go," he said, leading her towards the exit.

   Crickets chirped as the sun descended on Balamb town and the harbor. Couples were camped across town to witness the splendor that is sunset on the water. Two people stood guard over a particularly nice spot for viewing, one holding people back with the threat of a sword, the other holding a glowing wand at the ready.
   "Did Alex mention when they would arrive?" Zelgadis asked impatiently, "the natives are starting to get restless about this spot."
   "It's almost like they're camping the spawn," Guile commented, waving his wand at some people who got too close.
   "Camping the Spawn?" Zelgadis asked, arching an eyebrow. "You've been hanging around Delwynndwn, haven't you?"
   Guile sighed and bowed his head. "He got me hooked on 'Counterstrike' and 'Warcraft'."
   "Oh brother," Zel sighed, rolling his eyes. "That could be bad."
   "Evening," a familiar voice said from Zel's left shoulder. Both Zel and Guile jumped from the start before looking over to see Tenal and Tiskili standing arm in arm. "This our spot?"
   "The most romantic view of the setting sun," Guile reported with a salute, "studied for two nights by me."
   "You have eight thirty reservations at the Fiery Dragon Buffet," Zel added.
   "Thanks guys," Tenal said with a smile as he and Tiskili took their seats, "and make sure to thank Alex for me."
   "Oh, trust me, we will," Zel said, winking at Guile. "We will."
   As soon as Zel and Guile were gone, Tiskili leaned her head against Tenal's shoulder an asked, "What was that all about?"
   "What was what all about?" Tenal asked.
   "When you told them to thank Alex for you."
   "Oh, that? It's nothing really. Alex, Seifer, Irvine, and those two helped me with some small details for this date."
   Tiskili sat up straight and looked him in the eye. "Just what details did they help with, aside from this spot?"
   "Small wardrobe details and restauraunt reservations," Tenal replied nervously, a cold sweat dripping down his back. "Why?"
   "No reason really," Tiskili replied, leaning her head back on his shoulder, "just curious. That's all."
   Tenal breathed a sigh of relief and put his arm around Tiskili, watching as the sun dipped lower across the water, setting the sky aglow with pinks, oranges, purples, blues, and fiery reds and yellows. The ocean water reflected the colors, illuminating all in the glow of a perfect summer sunset.
   'And this is what life is all about,' Tenal thought, pulling Tiskili closer as she nuzzled into his chest, 'Perfect.'

   Following the sunset was a spicy hot dinner at the Fiery Dragon Buffet, where breath mints were included as part of every meal and antacids were always on hand. To wrap up the evening was some quality time at the arcade and the Dance Dance Evolution machine. At least, that was the plan.
   The moment they stepped into the arcade they could sense that the mood had changed a great deal from the day before. People shuffled around with their heads bowed, and only a few select people in leather biker jackets had run of every machine in the arcade.
   "This does not look good," Tiskili commented, snagging one of the shuffling people, "who are those people?"
   "They're known as the Shadow Fangs," the person, a goth type girl with pink streaks in her black hair, stated sadly, "they arrived last night and won't let us play our games."
   "That's horrible," Tenal said, "Tiskili, we have to do something."
   "Like what?" a deep, snarly voice said from behind them. They turned to find a wall of human flesh and pimples standing in the doorway, his deep set beady eyes focused on Tenal. "Whatcha gonna do to us? Whine for peace and snivel for justice?"
   The man wall's eyes fell upon Tiskili, who clung to Tenal's arm. "Hey sweet thing, why don't you ditch this loser and join a real man?"
   "Sorry, but I don't date outside my species," Tiskili replied with a snort, "besides, I already have a man."
   The man wal growled and grabbed Tiskili by the collar, lifting her from the floor. "Hows about a kiss?"
   "Put. Her. Down." Tenal growled, his hands glowing with ethereal energy, his words sentences of their own. "Now." he growled, the word hanging in the air like a lingering odor.
   "Get stuffed," the wall said, shoving Tenal to the floor as he walked towards the machines, "me and your girl are going to get to know each other better."
   Tenal gazed at the wall and snapped his hands up, the ethereal glow still there. "Blizzaga!" he growled, a ray of blue magic blowing past the wall to form a wall of solid ice.
   "You made a big mistake messing with the Shadow Fangs, especially me," the wall growled as he turned to face Tenal, "any last words before I slay you?"
   "Just a few, and they'll be before we kick your sorry butt," Karna said as he lifted Tenal to his feet. With Karna were Reyark, Anessa, Kirinis, and Fujin.
   "Who are you?!" the wall asked, Tiskili in his clutches.
   "We are SeeDs from Balamb Garden," all six people stated in unison, "and on behalf of Garden we'll punish you."
   "Reyark Romeron," Reyark said, pulling a set of ninja forks from his belt.
   "Kirins McCall," Kirinis smirked, a whip uncoiling from around her waist.
   "Anessa Cambridge," Anessa stated, unclipping her bow from her back.
   "Karna Kanazaka," Karna said, his hands glowing with ethereal power.
   "Fujin Ikabuki," Fujin stated, reaching for her chakram.
   "And I'm Tenal Griffin," Tenal said, drawing a short sword from the inside of his coat, "and that young lady you're holding is Tiskili Romeron, my date."
   The wall grew pale and set Tiskili down in a less than gentle way. "I'm sure we can work this out in a non violent way," he stammered.
   "We came to play some DDE," Tenal said, slipping the sword back into his coat, "so why don't we settle this on the machine?"
   The wall smirked evilly at him. "You... challenge me? That's a laugh."
   "I suppose we could do this the hard way," Karna said, fireballs forming in his open palms.
   The wall looked at the people who were ready to battle to the end if need be, then at Tenal. "What are the terms?"
   "Three songs on battle mode," Tenal smirked, "best two of three."
   "Sounds fair," the wall said, "but on what level?"
   "Maniac."
   "What?!" echoed through the arcade from multiple sources.
   "You really do want to die, don't you?"
   "If need be," Tenal said, rubbing his nose. "C'mon, let's dance."

   "Dancers ready?" Fujin asked as the two conbatants set their options.
   "Ready," both said simultaniously.
   "Then let the battle begin."
       Swoosh.
   "Looks like there's a real battle heating up on the dance floor," the machine chimed.

<music: 'Wah (unique remix)' - Lee Jung Hyun>

   The arrows for the song appeared at the lower center part of the screen before splitting off in duplicate to rise up the player sides of the screen. To make things difficult for the players all of the arrows were the same neon green color.
   "Woah," Karna gasped when he saw how fast the arrows were rising, "that's nuts."
   "They're dancing like, well, lords of the dance," Tiskili gasped, watching Tenal's feet move from square to square at high speed, "he's good."
   "He's hitting too many goods," Kirinis said, "he needs greats and perfects to make his combo grow."
   "He has yet to hit a miss or a boo," Reyark said, "his timing is off, that's all."
   Tenal must have heard Reyark, since a second later he was back to hitting all of the arrows for greats and perfects. A moment later the song ended, and Tenal took a long breath as the scores tabultaed.
   "Not bad for the first song," the wall said as a flashing A appeared next to Tenal's score and an AA next to his own score, "I'll call this round a draw since you didn't miss a step."
   "Next song," Fujin said, scrolling through the track lists. "Dance!"

<music: 'Seymour Battle (techno mix)' - FFX OST>

   Once again the pace was fast and furious, and both dancers had to tap into something deep inside to keep on top of the flashing arrows. Tenal wiggled out of his jacket, tossing it off to Karna as the BPM for the song went through the roof. Hold arrows flew by at a furious pace, and both dancers had to make full use of the dance surface to keep on their feet and hit every arrow.
   "This song isn't even supposed to be that fast," Fujin said, watching the difficulty the two dancers were experiencing, "the beat meter said 145 BPM."
   "For the opening measures," Anessa said, "I watched it shoot up into the 200 to 300 range."
   "They're doing well, all things considered," Reyark commented as the song ended. "Both are exhausted."
   "Next song," Tenal panted as another tie was announced.
   "My turn to pick," Tiskili said, stepping up, "since this is my date. And to add to the pot, I'll kiss the winner."
   "Tiskili?" Tenal asked, looking up at the redhead.
   Tiskili clicked through the songs, stopping on a song with a nice bouncy beat. "Dance," she commanded, hopping down.

<music: 'Kissy Kissy' - Smile .DK>

   "What the?" the wall asked, dancing to the nonsensical lyrics, "This... this is crazy."
   "Not really," Tenal said with a smirk, his combo growing by the heartbeat. "Kissy, kissy, makes me happy. Honey, honey, sweet as candy..."
   A sudden realization came to him. Tiskili would kiss him if he won. When he won, and this song was the incentive. He smiled broader and began hitting every arrow tih a 'Perfect' mark.
   When the song ended the wall fell off of the machine, complaining of leg cramps. Tenal smiled when the scores began to rack up, and broke into a full grin when he saw a shiny AA next to his score and only a B next to his opponant's. "I win," he said, uttering two of the most poewrful words in history.
   "Clear out and let the nice people play," Fujin said, taking charge, since she was the senior SeeD of the group, "otherwise we'll remove you by force."
   "And she means it," Kirinis smiled as she stepped forward, "you have five minutes. Starting... now."
   The wall was helped to his feet by a couple of his gang members, and he gave a signal for all to clear out. He stopped to congratulate Tenal on a battle well fought before being carried out of the arcade.
   "My hero," Tiskili cheered, pouncing on Tenal. She made good on her promise by pressing her lips to his in a long and very electric kiss.
   "Hey, the game has a free play," Anessa said, drawing people's attention away from the happy couple. "Who wants to dance with me?"
   "I will," Reyark said, hopping onto the platform, "What song do you want?"
   Boom
   "Let's dance."

<music: 'I do, I do, I do' - Creamy>

   "That was the best date I've ever been on," Tiskili said as Tenal walked her home.
   "But we had that run in with that gang of thugs," Tenal sighed, "and you could have been hurt. Or worse."
   "True," she smiled, snuggling into his arm, "but I wasn't, because I had my knight in black leather to protect me."
   Tenal blushed, since he felt uneasy at that moment. He was surprised when Anessa and Kirinis had shown up as part of their backup, and liking three girls at the same time was confusing him. The blood rushing to his brain on that matter made things even more awkward. Tiskili seemed to notice that something was wrong, since she asked, "Zenny for your thoughts?"
   "Nothing," Tenal said automatically. When Tiskili looked into his eyes he sighed, "Well, it's difficult to explain."
   "Kirinis and Anessa," she said, and his eyes widened in amazement.
   "How?"
   "Karna and Reyark are two of my best friends, and so is Anessa, and all three of them tell me things. I understand how confusing this must be for you, and if you want to get serious some day, I'll be here."
   "Tiskili..."
   "What?"
   Tenal cupped her chin in his hands and kissed her gently. "Thank you for a wonderful evening," he said, smiling.
   "I thought I was supposed to say that," Tiskili huffed before giggling.
   She took hold of Tenal's shoulders and pulled herself close, inhaling the smell of his cologne. She felt his strong arms circle around her, and the pressure of his chin resting on the top of her head.
   "I wish this moment would never end," she said, a tear sliding down her cheek. "That time would slip away, but you and I would stay together, forever."
   "I do too," Tenal said after a pause, "but since time won't stop, let's enjoy this moment as long as we can."

<music: 'M (Neurotic Eyes Mix)' - Ayumi Hamasaki>

<As the song plays, Tenal and Tiskili hold each other close, shooting stars filling the sky above. The camera gradually fades to black as the song ends>

-End

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