Chapter Text
One day, Tanya invites Mao Mao on a date. They agreed to meet in the evening at 19:00 in a restaurant whose name isn’t important to the story.
At 18:50, Mao Mao was waiting for Tanya at the entrance. He was dressed in a black jacket, black pants, and black shoes. Under the jacket was a crystal-white shirt and a black tie.
About a minute later, Tanya arrived in her golden mini-van. She was wearing only a tight burgundy dress, keeping her lime-green scarf around her neck.
Tanya: "Hey, mittens."
Mao Mao (flushing with slight annoyance): "Good to see you, Tanya."
They both walked into the restaurant.
The entire interior seemed to gleam with gold—everything was yellow. A massive chandelier with hanging crystals cast a bright white light across all surfaces of the dining room.
The manager led them to a table for two. The table itself also appeared golden, and the chairs had soft backs and seats.
Once Tanya and Mao Mao sat down, they began looking over the menu while exchanging basic small talk—how each other was doing and such.
Tanya: "How’s Adorabat?"
Mao Mao: "Fine, training as usual—nothing’s changed. How about your bounty hunting?"
Tanya: "Same old. Catching the most dangerous ones, handing them over to whoever pays. The bold ones try to get revenge, but they never succeed. How’s Badgerclops?"
Mao Mao: "Also the same. Still lazy."
They picked out suitable items from the menu, placed their orders, and then locked eyes.
Tanya: "So… how about you?"
Mao Mao gazed into her blue eyes—his heart began to beat faster. Her eyes seemed to pull him in. He answered:
Mao Mao: "Me? I’m… a happy man right now, looking into beautiful, ocean-blue eyes where the pupils are like islands. And those eyes remind me why you were my partner for so long."
Tanya short-circuited mentally. Her cheeks began to blush—something that usually happened to Mao Mao. Panicked, she glanced around: Was anyone watching them? Confirming no one was, she turned back to him.
Tanya: "Y’know…" She took a sharp breath, as if flustered. "You just killed me with that—was that a sen? A compliment? I don’t even know how to react. Before, I’d have to pry anything out of you for five minutes, and now you just drop that?"
Mao Mao (nervously): "A-ah, sorry! Was I too forward?"
Tanya (laughing softly): "Ahaha, no. It’s exactly what I wanted."
Mao Mao: "Maybe… we could hold hands? I won’t take my gloves off in public, though."
Tanya rested her hands on the table, and Mao Mao nearly covered them completely with his. He felt her fur; she felt his. For both of them, the sensation was indescribably wonderful. Mao Mao wanted to remove his gloves and hold her hands properly—but only when no one was watching.
They began reminiscing about their adventures together. Nothing around them mattered except each other.
After an hour, the words they both longed to hear finally came.
Tanya (playfully): "Y’know, Mittens, since our last meeting, I did say you’ve changed. So I was thinking… maybe we should try again. I know we both want this."
Mao Mao (awkwardly): "Yeah… I mean, sure, you do break the law sometimes, but… I’d be happy to restart our relationship."
Tanya: "Great. That was fast."