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“Y’know what, Charlie? We actually make a pretty good team.”
“Really? Y’think?”
“Yeah!”
Charlie stopped suddenly, and Panda was able to feel Charlie leaving the sidewalk for a moment.
“What’s wrong?”
“There was this hole,” Charlie explained. “Right in the middle of the sidewalk!”
“Like, a big hole?” Panda asked, lifting his head. Right now, he was comfortable situated on Charlie’s back, arms around his neck for extra support, and Charlie had his arms under Panda’s legs to prevent him from falling. Panda thought he could walk perfectly fine on his own, but he had forfeited that privilege after he had tripped over his own feet for the umpteenth time in the past hour.
“I couldn’t see the bottom of it,” Charlie answered. “Looked pretty deep to me.”
“That’s pretty scary,” Panda chuckled. “Someone could fall in!”
They kept walking, Charlie taking ample time to admire the scenery around them. Although Panda was in a bit of a hurry, he still found Charlie’s awed questions and comments about the various buildings that made up the landscape cute. Panda was glad Charlie seemed to be having some fun being dragged along. Although he was unable to view their current setting, Charlie was able to describe the city under the twilight glow of the sun with just enough vividness that Panda felt like he hadn’t lost his contacts at all. Charlie should write, Panda thought.
Panda had lived in San Francisco for six years and knew the city like the back of his paw, but the way Charlie described it made it feel like a new, yet still familiar territory.
Charlie stopped again, but this time he stayed stationary.
“Panda, what’s that building?”
“You’re gonna have to describe it to me,”
“Well, It’s white,” Charlie began. “It’s got a pointy top, and some red parts…? It’s real tall.”
“Oh, that sounds like the church!” Panda’s voice lifted.
“Wow,” Charlie marveled for a moment before he began walking again. “What’s it for?”
“It’s where people go to worship God,” Panda explained. He knew he wasn’t about to explain the ins and outs of religion to Charlie, so he jumped off that topic as fast as he could. “Some people get married in churches.”
“...Wow,” Charlie repeated. Panda found it rather lovable that Charlie could find wonder in things that came so simply to Panda, things that were everyday things to him. “Marriage, huh?”
“Yeah,” Panda said. “Do you think you’ll get married someday, Charlie?”
“I hope so,” Charlie sounded a bit hopeless, despite what he had said. “I don’t think anyone would want to marry me, though, heh.”
“What?!” Panda sounded incredulous, dismissing Charlie with a wave of his paw. “You’re, like, totally lovable.”
“Y’think so?” Charlie grinned softly. “Thanks, Panda.”
“I’m the unlovable one,” Panda groaned, half-joking.
“No way,” Charlie objected. “You’re amazing, Panda. Anybody would be more than lucky to have you.”
Panda sighed into Charlie’s neck. He cleared his throat in an attempt to mask the growing blush on his face, but he banked on the assumption Charlie wasn’t looking hard enough at him to notice. He stayed quiet for a minute and leaned a bit more of his body onto Charlie, and Charlie readjusted his arms so Panda would be more secure; Panda made a quiet, satisfied noise at this. He felt funny, like how he felt while scheduling his own doctor’s appointments or calling a customer support line. Panda’s heart felt like it was in his throat, however… he couldn’t say it was necessarily a bad feeling. It was new, and confusing, but he didn’t want it to go away.
“...Thanks, Charlie. You’re amazing too,” Panda finished. “If you treat anyone else like you treat me, they’d be crazy not to fall for you.”
“Gee… Thanks, Panda,” If Panda were able to see right now, maybe he would notice the way Charlie’s pupils dilated slightly as the corners of his mouth turned upwards in a sweet smile.
They’d make it to the restaurant not long after this discussion, and Panda didn’t have much of an answer when Grizz asked about Panda’s “dumb smile.”
“I wonder who she is this time,” Grizz would whisper to Ice Bear.