Moon Tide

Amusement Park Date

"Kaoru's bedtime is 9:30, but if he's good, I let him stay up an extra 15 minutes. I made something you can heat up in the stove, make sure he eats no later than 7. And no sweets after 5:30. Since it's a Friday, I don't really expect him to do his homework, but help him if he asks."

Iwai looked past Akira toward his son, Kaoru.

"You be good for him while I'm gone, okay, kid?"

"Yes, sir," Kaoru nodded.

"Good," Iwai smiled, and then returned his attention to the appointed babysitter. "Emergency contacts are in the cabinet. I should be home around 10:30 but I'll text you if something comes up."

Akira simply nodded.

And with that, Iwai closed the door and straightened his jacket so he could look somewhat decent for his date.

It was a casual date to the amusement park, no sweat there. Honestly, he never expected Tae to be the kind of girl to like amusement parks. He joked when he asked her, so maybe she was humoring him.

Maybe?

"There you are."

Iwai snapped out of his thoughts to see Tae walking up to him. What he didn't expect, though, was her outfit. Well, she clearly wouldn't wear her doctor's robes outside of work, but man did her outfit make her look good. Fit her goth apparel to a T, what with the choker and spider web on her top, while her skirt fit very well along her curves. Yet it still had some class to it with the black, long-sleeved jacket and boots that let onlookers know she wasn't someone that can be easily toyed with.

"Boy, do I feel underdressed now," Iwai huffed with a smile.

"That's what you get for wearing your work uniform to our date," Tae replied cheekily. She flicked Iwai's coat. "Next you'll say you're going to take me to the farmer's market for a 'romantic evening'."

"What's not romantic about that? Discounts on vegetables sound like a lover's paradise to me."

Tae rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"You know, second dates usually tend to be at fancy restaurants."

"First date was at Leblanc, though. Didn't want to be redundant."

"There's a difference between a café and a fancy restaurant, you know."

Then, she wrapped her arms around Iwai's.

"But I'll forgive you this time. Come on, let's start having fun."

Fun already started when you got here, Iwai thought to himself. He didn't say that out loud, though, to save him from embarrassment.

Their date played out like how you'd expect an amusement park date would go: Iwai would try to show off in the games to win Tae (and Kaoru) prizes, where Tae would sometimes join in and beat him at his own game. Fortunately, they didn't play too many games to where they would have their hands full with toys.

They'd make comments about the food, daring each other to eat whatever they could stomach before going on the rides, but not actually going through with it because the last thing they wanted was to die from food poisoning or heart attacks. (That, and the lines were obnoxiously long. It'd take like 2 hours just to get to the front of the line).

When Iwai offered to have them be a part of the Tunnel of Love, Tae laughed and instead went for the House of Mirrors.

He didn't mind, though, as his main goal for this date was to ride the Ferris wheel with her. He decided to save the best for last.

"I gotta admit, you have better taste in dates than I expected," Tae said with that playful yet cynical smile of hers.

"By that, I hope you're saying you're looking forward to more dates in the future," Iwai responded.

"I'd say that's a very likely chance."

She turned to her window as Iwai silently patted himself on the back.

"Though I'm still surprised, I didn't expect you to say yes to that first date, or this one."

She sounded distant, letting Iwai know all he needed to.

"I'm a man of my word," he told her. "And, well, how could I turn down an offer from a woman like you?"

Tae smiled again, but this one was sincere.

"Hey," Iwai said.

"Hm?"

Tae then noticed that Iwai scooted closer toward her. And with him taking his hat off, she knew what he was asking for.

In that moment, they leaned closer together and shared their first official kiss with one another. Not too long, not too short.

"That's why I wanted the amusement park date," Iwai told her when they pulled back. "Better to have the first kiss here than over a table where some nosy onlookers would be a nuisance."

"Fair enough," Tae replied. She then pressed a kiss on Iwai's cheek. "I'm actually hungry now, let's grab a bite to eat."

"Big Bang Burger sound romantic enough?"