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“What’s with the Love Manual?”
Those are first words out of Daru’s mouth when Okabe steps into the lab, momentarily startling him as Daru’s attention is solely on his computer, and the offending magazines are tucked safely behind Okabe’s lab coat, the cover facing inwards.
“How did—” he begins but then notices the two offending words are indeed printed on the back cover (an ad for next month’s issue—a dastardly move on the part of the publishers), and Daru’s head is tilted ever so slightly to be able to see the reflection on his monitor.
“Well, yes,” Okabe has no choice to admit, but before he can let the blood rise to his face and paint his cheeks an embarrassing pink, he continues, “These are the secret tomes that I did battle with the Organization’s top agents for, which when read unearth the hidden secrets to summon the fair nubile nymphs of Valhalla. I fought long and hard to obtain these, and should the Organization learn they are in my possession, then—
“Yes, yes, I won’t be the one to tell Mayushii,” Daru cuts him off, and turns around in his chair. Now that he can actually see Okabe though, he asks, “And? Why did you buy two?”
“The second one is an older issue,” Okabe says. “I thought I would see how the two compare, although I imagine they’re more or less identical. No one would be pathetic enough to buy more than one.”
“You did though.”
“For research,” Okabe insists, though in truth the older issue was the long and hard battle he had been thinking of. Buying one magazine had been an embarrassing enough ordeal on its own, but stores didn’t stock year old issues (it was a conspiracy on the publishers end to prevent gullible readers from noticing the recycled material), and finding out how to even go about finding it involved discussing the magazine with far too curious (and possible creeped out) clerks and customer support agents. Looking back, it probably was pathetic and not worth all of the hassle, but Okabe wanted to have that one particular issue. The other one he ended up buying because after bugging the clerks about it so much, he felt bad leaving it.
“Whatever,” Daru says and turns back to his computer, and resumes typing. “But seriously Bro, if you need a dating guide, you should have come to me. I have manuals for every type.”
“Except the real one,” Okabe retorts. “I don’t need your dating sim guides. These are fine.” He plops down on the couch and tosses the two magazines on the coffee table. Each one has a different picture of a scenic dating spot—neither of which is in Japan, Okabe can’t help but notice, but he’s pretty sure he Kurisu wouldn’t be interested in those anyway.
Or wait, maybe she would? She was only in Japan for a few weeks this time, and her last couple of trips kept her firmly in the city, considering everything that happened. Then again, she always came with a purpose, so sightseeing probably wasn’t very high on her agenda. Had she ever seen anything in Japan though? She’s not really a tourist, but surely everyone has to at least go to a temple or two on their trip (Rukako’s doesn’t count). Okabe grabs one of the issues and starts to flip through the pages.
“Hey Daru, what do think of Kyoto to see the old temples? Or maybe go on up to Hokkaido for the ski resorts? Or Okinawa for—
“What are you talking about?”
“Dating spots.”
“For?”
“…Me?”
The typing stops.
“You?”
“Y-yeah… and Kurisu…”
The chair swivels around again, and Daru’s eyes are wide.
“You and Miss Makise!?”
“You don’t have to sound that surprised.” It’s not really a secret that they’re together. They’re not really boyfriend-girlfriend or anything, but they do talk regularly, and make plans to meet up, and obviously love and care about each other.
“I was thinking Kurisu probably hasn’t seen much of Japan, that’s all. And the magazine mentions that they’re good romantic getaways.”
“Isn’t it kinda arrogant to think about romantic getaways when you haven’t even been on a date? You’re like skipping way, way too many steps here Okarin.”
“I didn’t say I was going. It was just a thought.”
“Never mind Hokkaido and Okinawa, can you even afford to take Kurisu down to Kyoto?”
“Weeeell, no.”
“That’s what I thought. Fail.” Daru shakes his head and picks up the newer of the two magazines. “Why do you even need these books anyway? Aren’t you and Miss Makise already all lovey-dovey.”
“We are!” Okabe snaps, then thinks about Daru’s words and blanches. “Well we’re not really “lovey-dovey” per se, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen her, and I want her to have a good time while she’s here.”
“Okarin, you saw her yesterday and she looked like she was having a blast kicking your butt at Road Combatants.”
“Where does a perverted tsundere @channeler get so good at fighting games anyway?” Okabe mutters, the wound from last night’s defeat tearing open anew. In the end he had only been able to score victories off Mayuri and Rukako, while Kurisu shot up to a comfortable second place behind Faris. It had been a fun evening, but it had been with everyone. Okabe wanted some time with Kurisu alone.
“No, you just suck,” Daru’s tells him, conveniently ignoring his own losses, and goes back to skimming through the magazine. “If you want to go sightseeing, Tokyo’s plenty big.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Okabe admits, and sets the magazine back down. “I don’t remember this being so difficult last time…”
“Last time?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Okabe quickly backpedals. Daru frowns and looks like he does want to press, but at that moment the door to the lab opens, and they are greeted by a cheery, “Tutturu!”
Mayuri walks in with a bright smile, and greets the two of them. There is a bag from a craft store in her hands, and Okabe opens his mouth to turn the subject to it, but Mayuri beats him with, “What are you guys doing?”
“Helping Okarin plan a date with Miss Makise,” Daru replies immediately and an arrow of betrayal pierces right through Okabe’s heart.
“Daru! You said you wouldn’t tell!”
“I said Mayushii wouldn’t find out about the magazines from me. You’re the dumbass who left them on the table.”
“Magazines?” Mayuri, who clearly hadn’t noticed them yet which meant Daru clearly was a traitor, walks over and picks up the one left on the table. “A love manual? Wait!” Her eyes widened. “Okarin is going on a date with Kurisu-chan!?”
“You really don’t have to act that surprised,” Okabe says with a heavy exasperated sigh, as Mayuri fumbles with the magazine and stares at him with an all-knowing smile. “What?”
“Ehehe, I was just thinking that spring has finally come for you Okarin,” she says cheerfully.
“It’s the dead of summer right now.”
“So? So? What have you decided already? Can Mayushii help too?”
“Uh, yeah, if you want to,” Okabe tells her, but part of him feels awkward having her here. Mayuri has always been nothing but supportive about his relationship with Kurisu, but part of Okabe still feels like he’s betraying her sometimes.
“Mayushii, where would you go on a date?” Daru asks.
“Um, I don’t know. I’ve never been on a date,” Mayuri admits. “But I think it would be fun to go a nice restaurant, and maybe an amusement park?”
“Those bring to mind two completely clashing images,” Okabe points out, and mentally rejects the amusement park. He’s not good with roller coasters, and he’s had enough adrenaline rushes to last him a lifetime. “But yeah, a restaurant is good.”
“Okarin, you absolutely can’t bring Kurisu-chan to May Queen!” she tells him seriously. “No way!”
“I wouldn’t,” Okabe assures her. Even he knows not to seriously bring a woman to a maid café for a date. “I have a place in mind.”
“Hmm, the manual says that there is no need for a fancy restaurant for a first date,” Daru reads. “Any place you regularly go to is fine… Okarin, the ramen place is no good either.”
“I know!” Okabe snaps. “I told you, I know a place.”
“If you say so,” Daru says, and continues reading. “But honestly, there’s nothing really special written here. It all sounds so… normal.”
“It should, this is a normal people date.”
“You and Miss Makise are not normal,” Daru says seriously. “Are you sure you don’t want one of my books instead? They helped me date plenty of tsunderes.”
“I think I’ll manage,” Okabe says. He should know Kurisu well enough at this point not to need a guide anyway. The magazine isn’t even there to really help him plan the date, he bought it because the other world line’s Kurisu had been reading it back then, and he wants to remember what she talked about. Maybe, maybe she had projected some of her own feelings into Operation Valkyrie, and even if the memories themselves were painful, time turned the calmer moments into…he couldn’t say fond memories, but at the very least something he could look back on without feeling sick to his stomach.
“Okarin, Okarin, how about an arcade?” Mayuri suggests. “You can win a cute stuffed animal for Kurisu-chan in the crane game.”
“Hm, yeah, I’ll think about it,” Okabe says, though it’s probably the sort of thing that would make Kurisu snort at him derisively. No, this date needs to be something special. Something to show Kurisu that he is serious about her, and there is more to him than the mysterious tragic mad scientist.
He takes the backordered magazine from Mayuri and flips through the pages again, the words vaguely familiar to him, as Mayuri and Daru offer up other ideas and barbs respectively. He pretends to ignore them, but still listens carefully. Mayuri understands people far better than he ever will, and while Daru’s dating experience comes from courting virtual waifus, he does have a beautiful wife and daughter in his future, so maybe there is something to it.
At any rate, Okabe’s glad. He had planned to just quietly read a few pages and then text—no, call Kurisu to invite her out, but Daru and Mayuri’s banter is calming. He feels like he can better appreciate the planning that had gone into Operation Valkyire, and the brief moment of levity in their bleak situation back then. He remembers Kurisu’s pointed lectures and imagines her embarrassment at having those teachings applied to her. It’s a fun image, and it’s all Okabe can do to remind himself that he’s not doing this to troll her.
He really, really wants them to have a good first date.
“Alright, we’ll now commence Operation Gimlé,” he declares, jumping up from his seat and waving his hands in front dramatically, lab coat swishing from the sudden motion.
There’s silence.
Okabe frowns.
“Ahem, I said we’re commencing Operation Gimlé,” he repeats and gives Daru a pointed prompting look.
Daru rolls his eyes.
“Why Norse Mythology?”
It’s hot.
Whoever decided that people had to show up fifteen minutes early must have lived in a fantasy land where the weather was idyllic year round, because all Okabe can think of as he waits for Kurisu is that he’ll melt and greet her as a puddle.
It’s his fault probably for overdressing. He and Mayuri argued about clothes for a while, and in the end he insisted on getting something nice and formal. He was taking Kurisu to a nice-ish place after all. Though in the end he also decided to wear his lab coat over the new clothes, because there were certain lines he wouldn’t cross.
Again.
It all felt too heavy though as the sun beat down on him. Maybe they should have met up in the frozen food section of the supermarket instead.
“Okabe!” A voice suddenly calls out to him and Okabe lifts his head to see Kurisu running over, her long hair swishing behind her, a warm smile on her face. She’s dressed…exactly as always. Okabe can’t help but feel slightly disappointed about that.
“Have you been waiting long?” she asks, looking him over critically. She doesn’t comment on his clothes yet, but Kurisu is sharp, and he can see that she’s already wondering about it.
“No, of course not,” Okabe says. “I just got here myself.”
“Uh-huh?” Kurisu shifts her gaze from his cream colored dress shirt to the beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. “You sure are sweating a lot.”
“I ran here.”
“Why?”
“You ran here too,” Okabe points out, and immediately Kurisu gets flustered.
“Well, that’s just because you looked like you were about to pass out from the heat. It’s not like I got excited when I saw you or anything,” she stammers, and after a moment, they both stifle a laugh.
Good old Kurisu, Okabe thinks, feeling some of his nervousness ebb.
“What’s with the clothes by the way?” she asks now. “You look weird.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean you’re wearing something that looks like it came from a fashion magazine. If not for the lab coat, I wouldn’t recognize you.”
“This is a disguise,” he finds himself replied, lapsing into the deeper octave he reserves for Hououin Kyouma. “The Organization is hot on my tail, and to elude them I had to obtain Sigurd’s Tarnkappe. For that matter, Assistant, it’s not safe for you to walk about like this. You should run home and change as well.”
“I just got here,” Kurisu protests unimpressed. “And if you want a disguise, lose the lab coat. But—no, don’t say anything, or we’ll never get anywhere.” Okabe shuts up. “So? Where was it you wanted to go?”
“Um, yes,” Okabe can feel his chest tighten again. It wasn’t unusual for him to invite Kurisu out anywhere, alone or with a group, but this was the first time he invited her specifically for a date. Not that he had actually used that word when he called her. He tried to, but it turned into a mad scientist speech that led to Kurisu hanging up the phone on him. This continued three more times before Okabe finally gave up and just asked her to meet him at a certain place at a certain time with no other details, and hung up before he could get an answer.
Looking back, it was probably amazing she showed up at all.
Then again, that’s just how their relationship was.
“T-this way,” his voice cracks slightly and he steps forward. Then, remembering that he’s supposed to be more considerate, glances at the street and sidesteps to be between it and Kurisu. If Kurisu notices it, she makes no indication.
What she does notice is the sign on the café he takes her to, and immediately she pulls back, eyes wide.
“Wait, we’re going here?” she asks, voice climbing up several octaves. “I can’t go in there like this!” She gestures to her outfit. White shirt, black shorts, leggings, and her jacket.
“Why not?” Okabe asks. “There’s no dress code.”
“That’s not the point,” she says. “Look at how everyone inside looks!”
Okabe looks through the window. The men are in collared shirts, the women in light colored summer dresses. It’s not fancy dress by any means, but he supposes it is a slight step above Kurisu’s casual wear.
“I did offer to let you to go home and change,” he points out.
“That was just your usual nonsense. You’re supposed to tell me about things like this ahead of time!” Kurisu scolds and backs away from the café, glaring at him like a defensive scared kitten. It’s an awfully cute expression, but Okabe can’t find the words to make fun of it. Suddenly all of his nerves are back full force, and he can’t even hide behind Hououin Kyouma.
“Okabe, be honest with me,” Kurisu says seriously. “Did you call me out today for a da…d…” The serious expression lasts for as long as it takes her to start stuttering and turning as red as her hair. Finally, in a small voice she queaks out, “T-this isn’t a d-date…right?”
It kinda is, Okabe thinks, but trying to vocalize those words makes his own face red. “O-of course not!” he stammers. “I am just a mad scientist taking his assistant out for some lunch. As a reward for her second place victory in last night’s fighting game tournament!”
“Ahaha, yes, that’s it,” Kurisu plays along, not even bothering to deny the assistant part. “It’s not like you would take me out on a date or anything. That would be weird.”
“Y-yeah,” Okabe agrees. Then slightly more seriously, “Do you want to go somewhere else? We don’t have to go here if you’re uncomfortable.”
“No, it’s fine,” Kurisu assures. “But you should have at least told me to dress up a little.”
“When a man invites you out, isn’t that just common sense?”
“Not when he normally takes me to a maid café.”
She did have a point, Okabe thinks, but he isn’t letting her win yet. “Well you need to learn between the lines you virgin @channeler.”
“Who’s a virgin @channeler?” she snaps, but then clears her throat when she realizes her outburst drew some stares. “Let’s just go.”
“I hear they have good cake here,” Okabe offers as they step inside.
He’s only been to Völuspa Café once before, in another world line, in a memory tainted with Rukako’s tears and regrets, but much of it is a blur. It’s for the best though, he still finds himself avoiding things from back then despite conscious efforts not to, so it’s somewhat of a relief that he had been able to remember this café and not immediately seal it off as another relic from a dark history.
The dim lights and the air-conditioning are a welcome relief from the harsh sunlight outside, and despite how she complained about her outfit, Kurisu seems to fit right in when she takes the menu.
“So?” she asks after they give their orders to the waiter. “What else are we doing today?”
“I was thinking we could walk around a little. Do some sightseeing, maybe?”
“Hmm?”
“Have you seen much of Tokyo?” Okabe asks. “Those other times you visited?”
Kurisu purses her lips in deep thought. “Not much, but I have seen a few places,” she admits. “My visits always end up so…thrilling though. Sometimes I feel like I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“You and me both,” Okabe admits despite himself. Two years ago was…that. Last year was the R-worldline. This year nothing had happened yet, and nothing would happen, but Okabe still finds himself on edge some nights. He’s able to push it aside for most of the year, but summer, when Kurisu visits, he looks for distractions.
Stop that, he scolds himself, You’re a normie now. The only thing you need to freak out over is your love life.
The words do encourage him, in that they send a chill down his spine.
“Are you alright?” Kurisu asks. “I didn’t mean to bring it up.”
“No, it’s not that,” Okabe tells her honestly. “And really, you shouldn’t be afraid to bring it up. It happened, we both went through it, we can’t just skirt around the issue like it’s ancient history.”
“I suppose so,” Kurisu says. Okabe’s sure she just trying to be considerate, and not risk bringing the mood down. They do talk about the past sometimes, mainly over late night phone calls when one, or both, of them forgets the time difference. In person though, it’s so easy to slip into the usual Mad Scientist and Assistant routine, and fun to do so, that they don’t need to dig up old skeletons unless something happens.
Okabe likes it this way.
“No really, I was thinking about something else just now.”
“Oh? Like what?”
“You certainly ordered a lot of food… my wallet started crying.”
“Shut up!”
The rest of lunch goes by smoothly. They get their food, then dessert (the cake really was good, albeit a little sweet according to Kurisu), and they manage to have an entire conversation without it turning to time travel. It's just their usual bickering interspersed with updates about their year and new theories they were pursuing.
Okabe wonders if that’s how it’s supposed to be on a date. He did a lot to prepare for it, but it felt no different from their usual hangouts. If anything, it was less exciting even.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Kurisu asks as they walk through a park. Their hands are at their sides. Okabe wonders if they should be holding them instead, but when his fingers twitch forward to take her hand, he grabs his wrist with his other hand to keep it steady. The motion startles Kurisu, who stares down at his gripped wrist.
“Were you trying to take my hand?” she asks after an awkward pause.
“N-no,” Okabe replies.
“Oh, okay, good,” she says with a nod. Okabe nods back at her and turns away, slowly prying his hand off his wrist. Then a moment later, Okabe feels a smaller palm in his. He turns to Kurisu in shock.
“Don’t misunderstand!” she says, cheeks red. “You just looked so hurt just now that I felt bad for you. I wasn’t thinking about whether or not to try holding your sweaty hand this whole time.”
“Such a tsundere denial.”
“I wasn’t!” she insists, but she doesn’t pull away or object to Okabe’s fingers intertwining with hers. “It…it almost feels like we’re a couple when we do stuff like this.”
“I think we are technically a couple,” Okabe points out.
“I-I mean like a normie couple,” she clarifies. “Going to nice restaurants, walking in the park, h-holding hands…”
“What do you think?”
“The events themselves are a little boring don’t you think? It’s much more stimulating to be in the lab building things and arguing about their names.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Okabe says. “But I think it’s supposed to be more about who you’re with. Are you bored right now?”
“No,” Kurisu says without a moment’s hesitation. “And it does feel kinda nice. It’s surprising to see you acting like such a gentleman.”
“A good surprising, right?” Okabe thinks he’s always a gentleman, but if he said it out loud, he’d be walking into a verbal smackdown.
“Surprising,” Kurisu repeats dryly. “Stop turning into Hououin Kyouma and calling me all those stupid nicknames and then we’ll talk. What about you though? Are you bored?”
“With you? Never,” Okabe says and squeezes her hand tighter. They could just be sitting and staring at each other and it wouldn’t be boring. Actually that scenario would likely turn into an intense staring contest with a lot of bickering and gesturing in an attempt to get the other to blink.
…That kinda sounded like fun.
“Do you want to sit down for a few moments?” Kurisu asks, pointing to a nearby empty bench.
“Sure,” Okabe says and the two of them went over to the bench. Before Kurisu can sit down though, Okabe suddenly remembers something else he’d learned about dating girls, back in the alpha world line.
“Hold on a second,” he says and pulls out a handkerchief from his pocket. He spreads it out in a neat square on the bench. “Now you can sit.”
Kurisu stares confused, then bursts out laughing. “What the heck?”
“Hey don’t laugh! I was taught that this is what you’re supposed to do with a handkerchief.”
“Who taught you that? Daru’s porn games?”
Okabe’s grin grows, and there is a devious glint in his eyes.
“That my dear Christina,” he says dramatically, “I learned from you.”