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“Gotcha!” Panda exclaims, grabbing for Charlie’s hand just as he was about to fall back into the sewer.
“Panda?” he blinks in confusion, and Panda shakes his head, guiding Charlie’s hand to the ladder step just below him to make extra sure he can’t slip off again.
“I’ve got you!” Panda repeats, partially reassuring himself that Charlie’s okay and partially assuring Charlie that he isn’t going anywhere without him. It’s pretty gut-punching to think that Charlie’s so surprised Panda would refuse to move on without him, and he can’t help but feel guilty about it, but at the same time, he’s…not surprised. I don’t need you, he’d said, just before he fell into the sewer water. I can find my way all by myself.
It’s pretty ironic, now that he thinks about it, that the only reason he fell into that nasty stuff in the first place is because he tried to find his way to the restaurant by himself. And the only reason Charlie dove into the water at all was because he was trying to help. Even after Panda snapped at him.
Eugh, Charlie was right. He was being a huge dingle. The only reason they were down here in the first place was because Charlie was trying to go the extra mile to rescue his phone after he’d dropped it, wasn’t it? That’s what it looked like he was doing when Panda found those glasses (which, come to think of it, he wouldn’t have found without Charlie’s help either…). Any other person would’ve moved on without it and expected him to just buy a new one later on.
“Let’s get out of here” he frowns, keeping an extra cautious eye on Charlie just to be sure as he begins climbing back up the ladder.
“Right on your tail!” Charlie assures, meeting Panda’s worried gaze with a determined look of his own. It’s this point that Panda doesn’t even care where in the city they end up, just as long as it’s dry, and warm, and somewhere safe where neither of them can get hurt. At least now that he has glasses, he can take a turn guiding them around the city, and if they’re in an area he recognizes, it’d be even better, because--
“We made it!”
“What?”
Charlie leaps out of the manhole, and picks Panda up to help him out of it as well. “The sewer river lead us right to your waffle restaurant!” he exclaims, and sure enough, when Panda glances up to where Charlie is gesturing he sees it’s a sign for a restaurant in big fancy cursive letters reading Chicken and Waffles.
...he really couldn’t have done this without Charlie, could he have? If they’d just kept going the way Panda insisted, they could’ve been lost for hours, and they might not have made it to the restaurant before it closed, but Charlie-
Panda’s so full of adrenaline from escaping the sewer, so euphoric that he had Charlie made it to the restaurant in one piece, just on time for the reservation, that he launches himself into Charlie’s arms. Charlie must’ve been having the same thought process as him, because he catches him far sooner than Panda expects him to. But he doesn’t care, he’s just so happy they made it, and he’s so happy they’re okay, so happy Charlie’s okay, that he can’t help but find himself laughing giddily as Charlie twirls him around in a circle.
We made it! They seem to be exclaiming in unison. We actually made it!
Charlie eventually sets Panda’s feet back on the ground, but Panda doesn’t let go, not at first. Charlie’s just so giddy, and bubbly, and it’s so contagious, and Panda doesn’t want to let go of this feeling. He does let go eventually, though, still cheering and whooping from his euphoric high.
“Hey, wait a minute” Charlie says, in a much softer tone, and Panda turns to face him. “Lemme just…” he reaches towards Panda’s face, and ever so gently, he readjusts Panda’s glasses for him. For some reason, the small gesture makes Panda’s heart flip in his chest, and his throat closes up a bit.
That’s...new.
Charlie’s hands remain where they are for a short moment, and for some reason Panda doesn’t want him to pull them away. He’d cup a paw to his cheek to keep Charlie’s hand in place like he always sees in the movies if he didn’t suddenly feel frozen solid.
“There,” Charlie says when he finally pulls his hands away, smiling softly.
If Panda didn’t know any better, he’d swear that smile made his cheeks burn.
“Thanks”, he murmurs, because that’s all he’s apparently capable of doing right now. He returns Charlie’s soft smile with a shy smile of his own.
For a very brief moment, neither of them speak. Panda almost feels like he’s forgotten how. What do you even say at a time like this, when you’re feeling this way? Panda’s not sure he’s ever felt this uncomfortable around anyone before. Well, okay, he’s felt awkward and uncomfortable around a lot of people, but this feels…..different. It feels nice. Fragile, even, like any tiny gesture would be enough to shatter it. And by the look in Charlie’s eyes, he’s sure he’s feeling the same way.
“Welp….” Charlie starts, but trails off just as quickly.
“Uh…” Panda tries, but finds himself equally tongue-tied. Something. Anything. Thanks for the trouble. I had fun today. We should do this again sometime. I’m sorry. Just as long as it’s words that Charlie can understand. Before he can finish talking himself through it, though, a paw grabs his shoulder from behind, and if he hadn’t recognized the voice attached to it right away it would have startled him right back into Charlie’s arms for sure.
“Panda! You’re here!” Grizz exclaims, dragging him away from Charlie and back into the restaurant. His mouth is still hanging open like a fish out of water. “Oh, hey Charlie!” Grizz exclaims. “Nice hat. Bye!” he’s quick to dismiss, and while Panda probably figures it’s just because Grizz is in a hurry and there we no actual ill-intentions behind the hushed goodbye, Panda can’t help but feel bad for him. It really isn’t helping that Grizz is dragging him inside backwards, because Panda still finds himself facing Charlie, who looks equally frozen as he’d felt moments ago. Charlie settles to silently waving goodbye, and it’s with a small frown plastered to his face that Panda finds himself waving back.
The image of Charlie just...standing out there, all by himself, is still stuck in Panda’s mind when he arrives at the table with his two brothers. The waitress comes by with their menus as soon as he sits down, and as guilty as he feels for just...leaving Charlie out there, he can’t help but feel a little...relieved. He sighs, practically collapsing onto the table.
“Glad you finally made it, Pan”
“Ice Bear wants details”
“And why was Charlie with you?”
That question…..hurts more than he expected to. He sits up, fiddling with his paws, and he fights the urge to look out the window behind him to check if he’s still there, frozen in place, watching from outside. “He’s…” Panda frowns. “He’s the only reason I made it. I couldn’t have gotten here without him”
Grizz frowns. “Woah, really? I know he hates being around people”
And that hurts even more. Panda got so caught up in his own head that he...never really stopped to consider how much Charlie did for him today, did he? Panda goes to the city on a daily basis. He knows almost every street corner like the back of his paw, has the subway system almost memorized, and he knows exactly which streets and alleyways to avoid if he doesn’t want to get caught up in unnecessary trouble. On a good day he’d be able to navigate the city all by himself, without even his brothers to help him get around.
Not only has Charlie never been to the city before, as far as Panda knows, Charlie’s terrified of people. He’s spent all his life running from people in fear of being recognized, or captured, or worse, and the last time Panda checked there were over eight hundred thousand people living in San Francisco. That’s more people than Charlie would ever want to encounter in a lifetime, let alone a single day. Asking Charlie to come into the city and help him, that’s like...asking Panda to move mountains for him.
Charlie could’ve backed out any time he wanted. He could’ve said no to helping him reach the city in the first place. But he still said yes, despite his fears, despite the risk of exposure, all to...make him smile.
And for what?
Panda glances down at the menu in front of him. “Yeah…” he replies, but his heart’s not really in it.
Chicken and Waffles. One of the greatest combinations ever made, as Grizz had called it earlier this morning.
“You know, Charlie, you and I actually made a pretty good team”, as he said at sunset.
You can’t really have have one without the other.
Well, you can, technically speaking, but they don’t really feel whole when they’re not together, you know?
“You okay?” Grizz asks, tearing into his thoughts, and Panda shakes his head.
“I can’t do this”
“Can’t do what?”
“I can’t eat here.” Panda frowns, shoving the menu away. “It doesn’t feel right”
Grizz frowns. “But Pan-Pan…”
“I know, I know!” Panda plants his face into the table. “I know we’ve been waiting nine months for this. But I...I can’t just leave him out there after everything we’ve been through today. I....” he starts fiddling with his paws again. “I...actually had a really good time today, and I don’t have it in me to...just leave him out there.” He shrugs, smiling awkwardly. “Turns out we actually get along really well when it’s just the two of us…” he laughs shyly, rubbing at the back of his head. “I just...don’t think I could enjoy myself if I ate here without him”
“Hmmm….” Grizz taps at his chin. “Well, we could invite him inside, but I dunno if the waitstaff would appreciate that...or if he’d even want to spend any more time in the city than he has to…”
Panda sighs. “Yeah, I guess you’re right…” he says, and glances back down at his menu.
His-
His menu.
That’s right.
Charlie had caught them just before they were leaving for the restaurant because he wanted to have a picnic with them, right? And he’d already had a full basket prepared, didn’t he?
Panda stands. “I’m going after him”
Grizz and Ice exchange glances. “But...he’d hate it in here, wouldn’t he?”
Panda shakes his head. “Oh, I’m not bringing him back here.” He can’t help the small smile spreading to his face. “I’m going to go have that picnic with him instead”
“Awwww, Panda!” Grizz squeals, his eyes going all big. “I’m so proud of you. We’ll come with you”
“No,” Panda shakes his head. “You guys stay and enjoy yourself. You’ve been waiting nine months for this too”
“But-”
“I’ll be fine, guys, I promise” Panda grins. “Just bring me some leftovers if you can, okay?” he says, backing away towards the front door, and the last thing Panda sees before he’s out the door is Grizz’s determined little nod.
Charlie is...not right where he left him, and Panda frowns.
If he were Charlie, he’d probably be heading...back towards the forest, right? And the best way to cut through from here would probably be towards China Town, since the man at the acupuncture office said the restaurant was right around the corner, right? Panda glances around for any hint of how to get back there from here, since they kind of took the...uh….long way around, and….
Bingo!
“Charlie!” Panda shouts as he sprints towards him. Charlie stops dead in his tracks at the sound of his voice, and turns to look at him. Panda smiles bashfully and redirects his gaze towards the ground. “Charlie, I…” he stumbles. “I...it means a lot, you...coming to the city and all, and, well…” he redirects his grin and soft gaze to Charlie. “I think it’d be nicer to have dinner with you instead”
Charlie blinks in shock. “B-but…” he mutters. “What about your brothers?”
Panda shrugs. “We’re together all the time. I’m not the only one who was looking forward to the reservation” he shakes his head. “They told me they’d bring home leftovers, and we can always book another reservation if we needed to, but…” he rubs at his arm, smiling shyly. “The chances of getting to have another picnic with you? Those are closer to one in a million”
He knows that’s not entirely true, and he knows Charlie knows that isn’t true, but Charlie’s so taken aback by the compliment that he’s covering his mouth with both of his hands and his eyes are shining brighter than the stars in the nighttime sky.
“Oh, Panda~!” he exclaims, rushing towards him to scoop him up into another tight hug. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me” he sniffles, and rocks Panda back and forth in his arms. And maybe it’s just because Charlie’s happiness is just that contagious, or some other invisible force that he can’t explain, but Panda finds himself equally lightheaded and giddy as he hugs Charlie back. Charlie eventually places him back down on the ground, and starts rubbing at his chin. “Hmmm…” he muses aloud. “Guess all that’s left is to find our way back” he mumbles, tapping his chin like he’s scheming some sort of grand plot. He shifts his gaze back to Panda and snorts. “Guess that’s one downside to that sewer river. Doubt it could take us back the way we came”
Panda laughs, and pulls the GPS app up on his phone. “Nah, it’s cool, I got it” he says, and smirks. “Unless you’re saying you want to go back into the sewer, I’ve got us covered”. His phone pings, to indicate the GPS found the fastest way home, and he offers his free paw out for Charlie to hold it. He’s sure part of it is just out of habit, but when Charlie grabs at it without really thinking, probably also out of habit, Panda’s also sure there’s a part of him that knows exactly what he’s doing, because something about this feels….right. It feels good, having his paw interlocked with someone else’s hand, gently swaying back and forth as they walk along the sidewalk. And for reasons he wishes he could explain, it feels extra nice, knowing Charlie is on the other end.
“Oh!” Charlie suddenly stops dead in his tracks, gently tugging on Panda’s paw in excitement, temporarily popping their little bubble of serenity. “What about that underground train we rode this morning? What’d ya call it? The subway?”
That’s actually a...really smart idea. Panda’s not sure why he didn’t think of it first. Maybe he’s just...grown accustomed to taking things slow with Charlie. He’d be lying to himself if he tried to say he wasn’t starting to grow comfortable with it. He pulls his phone out to check the schedule and see when the next train they could catch would be coming by, but he frowns when he catches the time. 7:55pm on a Friday night? In the heart of the city? Every subway car they find is gonna be packed to the gills. Families heading out for dinner for the first time all week, college kids heading out drinking, and various office buildings letting off of work are going to stuff those subways with more people right now than Charlie’s probably seen all day. Panda doesn’t have the heart to make him sit through that, even for a ten minute train ride. If they have to go the long way around for Charlie’s sake, he’d be happy to. Panda’s certainly not in any hurry.
“Mmm, that’s a great idea, but I dunno…” he squints at his phone, still lightly swaying Charlie’s hand back and forth. “Dinner rush. There’s going to be a lot more people on those train cars than there were this morning. I’d rather not make you go anywhere you wouldn’t be comfortable” he puts his phone away and smiles up at Charlie. “We could always cut back through that park. I think it’s closing soon, so all of the kids who were there before should be home by now”
Charlie’s beam just keeps getting brighter and brighter every time Panda looks at it, he swears. Charlie temporarily lets go of Panda’s paw to tug him closely to his side. “Aww, look at my Pan-Man, always looking out for me” he grins, and Panda can’t help but grin back as he lets one of his arms wind around Charlie as well.
“Of course I am,” he responds. “I know you’d do the same for me”
Charlie’s eyes twinkle, just a little bit. “Of course!” his grin widens, which make his eyes crinkle in happiness. “I’d do anything for you”.
The sheer unadulterated joy in Charlie’s tone is enough to make Panda’s stomach start doing flips, and he finds the smile plastered to his own face involuntarily softening.
“I know”, he murmurs, more to himself than to Charlie.
They find the park entrance soon enough. That acupuncture doctor wasn’t kidding when he had said Chicken and Waffles was right around the corner from his office. Panda had been right in his suspicions that the park was now empty, so this time around it’s just the two of them. And maybe it’s just because there’s significantly less urgency, but there’s something almost beautiful about this stretch of the park this time around. He’s not on Charlie’s back this time, but somehow just walking beside him feels more...intimate, if he has the right to use that word, even though he knows that if he really wanted to be carried all he would have to do is ask. Save for the occasional street light, the only thing that’s really lighting their path this time around are the stars in the sky and the distant city lights both ahead and behind them. They’re walking in silence, for the most part, and they’ve fallen back into the habit of interlocking their hands and gently swaying them back and forth.
Whatever this feeling is, Panda wants to capture it in a bottle and remember it for a long, long time.
“Wow….” Charlie suddenly whispers, and Panda’s about to absentmindedly agree, until he looks to Charlie and realize he’s come to another stop. He’s also looking outwards, instead of at him, and when he follows Charlie’s gaze Panda realizes he’s staring with child-like wonder at the city lights. There’s significantly less light pollution in the park, too, since they’re not in the heart of the city anymore, so the stars in the sky are shining twice as bright as they were before. Charlie gently squeezes at Panda’s paw, and he’s not sure if it’s to get his attention, out of habit, or something else entirely. “This place sure is beautiful once you get over all the unknown about it, huh?” Charlie muses. “I’ve admired these lights from the edge of the forest for years, but I never thought…” he trails off, and gives Panda’s paw two more little squeezes before he directs his wonder-like gaze towards him. “Heh, I guess all I needed was a little push. What was that you said about us earlier? You were real smart then, pointing that out.”
Panda’s heart flips in his chest again. “I-I said that we made a great team”
Charlie beams, like he’s hearing it for the first time all over again.
“But you’re sure you’re not upset at me for making you come with me? Or that I snapped at you, or was being a huge--”
“Water under the bridge, Pan-Pan” he waves it off. “You didn’t make me do nothing. This was all my choosing. We were both stressing out for different reasons, Panda. All that mattered to me was making you happy”
Panda’s mouth twitches. “For so little in return?”
Charlie laughs. “I ain't exactly a big ‘reward’ kinda guy, Pan-Man. Your smile would’ve been plenty enough for me”.
A warm breeze suddenly goes by. Or at least that’s what Panda’s choosing to believe is causing the heat rising to his face.
At the back of his mind, Panda knows that if he had stayed with his brothers instead of coming back for Charlie, he would’ve had to navigate the city back to the forest all by himself. But Panda doesn’t want to think about it, and he certainly doesn’t want to bring that point up, because he knows if he does it’s going to break up the serenity that has settled back over them like a warm blanket. Instead of saying anything else to try to argue back, he gently squeezes at Charlie’s hand the same way he’d just been doing to him earlier.
The gesture is enough to make Charlie smile.
The dinner rush on the subway system is far over by the time they finally navigate their way out of the park, but Panda still doesn’t want to take any chances. A quick check of his phone lets him know that it’s still early enough to call for one of the trolleys, and it’s with Charlie’s permission that Panda calls the service to let them know there’s a couple who needs to be picked up and brought to the outer edge of the city. There’s nobody else on the trolley when it arrives, but Panda takes extra precaution and finds two seats for them in the back anyway. Panda’s ridden the trolley just as many times as he’s ridden the subway, so he barely even needs to listen for the stop names anymore, but given the way Charlie’s watching the city lights blur by in awe Panda assumes it’s his first time. It shouldn’t surprise him, if this is his first time in the city, but it’s….kinda cute, in a way.
It’s just before 9 o o'clock when they make it back to the cave. A huge contrast compared to the maybe fifteen minutes it would’ve taken if they’d just hopped on the subway instead, but Panda wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Blech, I’m gonna go look to see if I have any spare contacts in my room. These glasses are starting to smell”, he complains, as soon as he steps in the door, and he’s already squinting as soon as they’re off of his face. He folds them up but makes a mental note to leave them somewhere for safe keeping as a set of spares (just as…long as he washes them first).
Charlie chuckles. “You need some help there?”
“Oh, ha ha” Panda replies dryly, though he wouldn’t be surprised to learn it was a partially serious offer. “You go set up the picnic blanket. I’ll be right out”
“You got it, Pan-Man!” he exclaims, and if Panda squints he can sort of make out the blurry figure of Charlie giving him an extended thumbs up. He laughs, and once his back is turned to Charlie he rolls his eyes at him. He realizes that blindly waving his arms out in front of him probably isn’t the best way to try to find your way around anywhere, but at least he has a pretty good portion of the cave memorized. At this point the dramatic wave of his arms is just for show.
He heads straight for his medicine drawer as soon as he’s sure he’s in his room, and although it takes a little bit of digging, sure enough, he finds a spare lens case shoved way in the back. He brings the case into the bathroom, and just about sighs in relief when he finally gets his contacts in.
It’s this moment that he’s suddenly hit with the question of why didn’t he just look for his spares in the first place, but the sound of Charlie clunking a few things around in the other room answers his question before he can even finish asking himself that question in the first place. He readjusts his bow tie while he’s already in front of a mirror, and he meets Charlie out in the living room.
In the short time since he left the room Charlie already tossed his disguise to the side at some random corner of the room. Normally Panda would be annoyed at the careless gesture, but Panda clamps down on that complaint as soon as catches view of the picnic setup. The basket is set in the middle of the neatly unfolded picnic blanket. Two paper plates are set out on either side of the basket, and there’s a single lit candle sitting beside the basket. It’s pretty redundant, considering the lights around the cave are still on, but Panda still appreciates the extra effort regardless.
Charlie grins when Panda sits down, and begins digging through the basket. “Ah! Here we go” he says, pulling out a handful of dark green leaves in one hand and a large pine cone still covered in tree sap in the other. “Pinecones and leaves! Nature’s chicken and waffles” he grins, and leans backwards on his hands, looking especially proud of himself. “I know it’s not as special as waiting almost a whole year to eat fancily prepared food, but I figured I could make up for it if you got to have the extra sappy pinecone. Really adds another kick of flavor to it.” He says, and begins rummaging through the basket again. “And, uh, I know it doesn’t look fancy, but I went outside and picked a couple of garnishes while you were in the bathroom.” He says, and before Panda can even jokingly ask him what he could possibly know about garnishes, he pulls out a number of yellow dandelions.
“I personally think they’re a bit too bitter for my taste, but I’m sure you’ll like it, if it’ll make it feel any more like a fancy restaurant” he says, and begins ripping it up and dramatically sprinkling it over Panda’s food.
Before Charlie even has time to reach into the basket to retrieve his own food, Panda launches himself at Charlie in a hug. Charlie’s only a little taken aback, if only because it isn’t the first one he’s received tonight. He hugs Panda back and holds him really close, and Panda can feel Charlie’s warm breath on his head as he buries his face into it. They stay as they are for a moment, and Panda can’t help the return of the feeling that this is right, this is where he belongs. He almost doesn’t want to pull away, but he is starving.
“Cheers” Panda says, holding up his pinecone to Charlie, and Charlie responds by raising his own to Panda and clinking them together like they were wine glasses.
“Cheers,” he says back, and goes right into munching away at the food in front of him.
Well….what has he got to lose, anyway? Panda squeezes his eyes closed as he crunches right into the section of the pinecone with the most amount of dandelion petals on it, if only to humor Charlie, and...he’s surprised to find he likes it a lot more than he expected. It must go without saying, because when Charlie glances up from his food his eyes light up in a bright smile his mouth is currently too occupied to accomplish. Panda does what he can to smile back at Charlie the same way, and he’s just as surprised as he knows his brothers will be when he finishes both the pinecone and the leaves it was stacked on top of.
Charlie sure seems happy about it.
“Welp…” Charlie starts again, and stretches his arms above his head before he stands up. Panda follows suit.
“Uh…” he starts, but then he shakes his head, suddenly having an uncomfortable sense of deja vu. He assumes Charlie’s about to say he’s heading out, just by the look on his face, but Panda doesn’t want to jump to any conclusions. And he certainly doesn’t want to be interrupted by his brothers, not again, not after now having navigated the entire city with Charlie twice in one night.
So instead of waiting for Charlie to speak first, or even speaking first himself, he rushes forward to give Charlie another hug. He unabashedly buries his face into Charlie’s chest, wanting to remember exactly how this feels, because he has no way of knowing when the next time the two of them will be alone like this will be. Charlie seems to pick up on his wordless message, because he crouches down, ever so slightly, to allow for Panda for more comfort and to hold him even closer as he hugs him back. Neither of them speak for what feels like a very long time, and both are hesitant to be the first to pull away.
Panda smiles sweetly at him. “You know what? I had a really good time tonight.”
“Yeah?” Charlie grins. “Me too. We should do this again sometime”
Panda snorts, and finally acts on being the one to pull away first. “Just...maybe not under these exact circumstances, okay? Contacts are expensive to replace”
Charlie laughs, and wipes at his eye with a single finger. “You got it” he says, pointing a finger gun at him and winking. Panda can’t help but giggle. “See you around”, he says, and Panda waves goodbye as he watches him go.
“See you around,” he replies, and finds himself still waving goodbye long after he’s gone.