"Just as I thought it was going alright

I find out I'm wrong, when I thought I was right

It's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all"

Aile sped down the highway, her muscles tensed to the point they felt ready to snap. She tried to focus on the road, the radio, any available distraction, but it just wasn't enough.

"I could say day, you'd say night

Tell me it's black when I know that it's white

It's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all"

"What a day," she grumbled to herself.

"I could leave but I won't go

Though my heart might tell me so

I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes"

Her route had started out well enough. However, from there it had escalated awfully quickly from customers only thinly veiling their rudeness to those that showed it off proudly. Aile was hardly a stranger to placating folks and moving on, but the string of so many assholes in a row had really taken a toll on her.

"So why does it always seem to be

Me looking at you, you looking at me

It's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all"

She took her turn a bit too fast, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. As the road sloped upward, she caught a brief glimpse of Arcadia through the trees, and sighed.

"Turning me on, turning me off

Making me feel like I want too much

Living with you's just putting me through it all of the time"

"And I get to do it all again tomorrow…"

"Running around, staying out all night

Taking it all instead of taking one bite

Living with you's just putting me through it all of the time"

Another intersection came up. For just a moment, Aile glanced the other way, seeing the road stretch out into the distance, but then turned back to her familiar path.

"I could leave but I won't go

It'd be easier I know

I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes"

Once she was high enough, she pulled off the road onto a small patch of dirt. Dismounting, she walked over to the railing, where she had a perfect view of the entire city.

"But why does it always seem to be"

She pulled off her helmet with a quick tug.

"Me looking at you, you looking at me"

Leaning forward, Aile screamed at the top of her lungs.

"It's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all"

"…So, yeah, I'm still working out the stress," Aile said. "Sorry."

Across the table, Prairie said, "You don't have to apologize. I'm sorry you had a rough day."

"Just wish I could be more chipper. I really am glad to see you—you've improved my day immensely."

Prairie smiled. Aile took a drink of her coffee, while she gazed into hers with a thoughtful look.

"Anyway," Aile said, "how's university going?"

"Well enough," Prairie said. "I feel like I've gotten off on a good foot with all my professors, and there's nothing in the syllabi that immediately concerns me. I'm still excited to hone my skills!"

"Good! I'm sure you'll do great."

Prairie waited a moment. "Say, Aile?"

"Hm?"

"I'm not really sure how best to do this, but…well, I can't stop thinking about how you were flirting with me when we first bumped into each other."

Aile sheepishly grinned, hiding behind her coffee cup. "Oh, right. Well, I saw a cute girl and thought I might like to get to know her a little. Wasn't expecting to find out I already knew you so well."

"Right," Prairie chuckled. Her fingers began to rub the handle of her cup. "I guess what I want to ask is…now that you do know it's me, are you…still interested?"

Aile inclined her head, but then went still for a moment. Setting her cup down, she rested her arms on the table, leaned in, and said, "I've been thinking about that too. Just, wasn't sure how to bring it up."

Prairie felt her heartbeat pick up a little.

"What I had in mind before was short-term. That's just how I've been doing things for a while. But, with you, that's not…and I mean, I don't want you to feel pressured into anything. If you want us to just be friends I am more than fine with that! But, if you wanted to, maybe, see where else we could take things…"

She trailed off, apparently not sure if she should say more without hearing any feedback. Prairie tilted her head, saying, "Hm, I was expecting a more bold and decisive answer…"

Aile smirked. "Oh were you?"

"After that warm greeting I assumed you were just as forward as you used to be. Before, you'd tell anyone who would listen that you planned to marry me someday."

A subtle blush tinted Aile's face. "It's not like I'd hold you to that. We were kids, we barely knew what marriage was. Plus, we've been apart for so long, who knows how much we might've changed…" Pausing, she folded her hands together, then undid them again. "…I just don't want to rush things with you, Prairie. Now that you're back in my life, I want to keep you in it—I don't want to jeopardize that by coming on too strong."

Slowly, Prairie reached out and took Aile's hands, saying, "You're so sweet, Aile."

Aile gave a soft grin, lifting one of Prairie's hands to kiss it. Prairie couldn't help but giggle.

"It has been a while…so it's hard to know for sure what sort of relationship I want with you right now."

Aile nodded.

"…But…I really, really want to find out."

Light sparkled in Aile's eyes.

"For now, why don't we just…go on a date or two, and see what happens? It'll give us a chance to get to know each other again. Then, we should be able to make a more informed decision."

"Hehe, how very logical," Aile said. "Alright. In that case, Prairie, would you like to go out this weekend?"

Looking up at the ceiling, Prairie said, "Hmmm…oh, why not? I should have some free time Friday night."

"Wonderful! Shall I pick you up at 7?"

"Yes, that will do nicely."

Aile pulled out her phone to set a reminder. It vibrated in her hands, making her jump a little, and then she dismissed the notification with a short grunt.

"What's that?" Prairie asked.

"Oh, it's from the racing board. I've been getting them non-stop the past day or so…"

"Someone's trying to get ahold of you? Is it a challenge?"

"Yeah, it's another of the Galleons. I told her I'm not interested—think I'd rather just let them stew for a while—but she doesn't know when to quit. Hoping she gets tired of trying soon." When she was done, she returned her phone to her pocket, and smiled at Prairie. "More importantly, where do you want to go Friday?"

Prairie shrugged. "I still don't know this town very well. Why don't you surprise me?"

"Alright, leave it to me! I'll show you a good time."

With another giggle, Prairie finished her coffee, and then she glanced at her watch. "Ah, I need to catch my train."

"You want a ride?" Aile offered, quickly gulping down the rest of her own drink.

"I don't need one, if you've got somewhere to be."

"Nope! I'd be happy to take you! Finally got a second helmet, too—come on."

Prairie smiled as Aile led her by the hand. She could feel a bit of tension in the back of her mind, but ignoring it was easy with so much excitement filling her heart.

Prometheus sat with his arms crossed, bouncing his leg repeatedly. The door opened, and he leapt to his feet: in walked a woman wearing a white and blue riding suit, her face obscured by a very simple white helmet with a pale green visor.

"Well?!" Prometheus shouted.

The woman didn't look up from her tablet as she walked past him. "No response."

Prometheus spun and kicked the wall. "Dammit! I'm sick of waiting—let's just go track that bastard down and force 'em into a race!"

"Weil's orders were clear. I am to engage Zex individually, through an official challenge."

"I remember…but doesn't that seem strange to you, Pandora? Why is he insisting we stick to these 'proper channels' when we could just take Zex out on our own terms?"

Pandora took a seat, still focused on her tablet. "Unknown. For the time being, we must simply hope the answers will present themselves in due time."

Prometheus spent a few seconds grumbling to himself. Walking over to Pandora, he asked, "Hey, what sort of things have you been saying in your challenges?"

"I have simply requested a race."

"…That's all? Every time?"

"Yes."

"Give me that."

Pandora handed over the tablet, and Prometheus looked at the post she was observing:

-Challenging Zex-

Zex, I hereby request a race with you. Please respond.

Prometheus sighed. "Pandora, you'll never get their attention like that! You gotta make Zex mad, leave them no choice but to take you on!"

Pandora tilted her head.

"Here, let me—"

The door was flung open, letting a single Galleon stumble in. "Uh, Prometheus! Weil wants to see you."

"Great," Prometheus said. Handing the tablet back to Pandora, he said, "Just, try to get them riled up or something. I insulted their girl, that seemed to get under their skin. Do that."

Prometheus left, and Pandora looked back down at the tablet, muttering, "Hm…I see…"

Aile dribbled the ball down the court, Vent in pursuit but too far behind to be much of a threat. She slid into position, took the shot, and watched the ball pass straight through the hoop as she cheered for herself.

"Yeah, yeah, don't rub it in," Vent said as he caught the rebound. "This is how it always goes. At a certain point you're just picking on me."

Aile shrugged. "Maybe if you got out a little more, you wouldn't lose quite so badly, brother dear!"

Vent rolled his eyes and started to dribble. "So, Friday? Any idea where you're going to take her?"

"Man, too many ideas, honestly. It's Prairie, y'know? I wanna go all out! But, payday isn't until—"

Vent darted off to the side as she was talking. It took Aile a few steps to catch him, but she successfully cut him off, forcing him to back up to keep control of the ball.

"What, did you think that was going to work, you sneaky bastard?"

"Heh, it almost did!"

He faked to the side and shot. The ball bounced off the rim, and as he ran to reclaim it, Aile snatched it out of the air and ran back to the opposite basket to score again. She flashed a toothy grin at him.

"Huh…name a few, let me know what you're thinking."

Aile spun the ball around atop her finger, saying, "Well let's see, there's a couple date movies at the theater that we could check out."

"One of your go-to strats."

"Yeah, maybe not, don't want to slip into my usual habits. There's the museum, that'd probably be right up Prairie's alley, right?"

"Definitely. But I bet you'd fall asleep before making it through the tour."

Aile threw the ball at him, a pass he barely caught. "…Point taken. Uh, well, she'd also probably enjoy looking around the junk shops—I could buy her whatever random parts she needs."

Vent landed a shot before answering, "Not bad…but, not especially exciting as far as dates go."

"Argh, this sucks! Normally I'm great at this, but I want it to be perfect, and now I can't choose!"

"Okay, calm down, ladykiller. What about dinner? That should balance everything out nicely."

Aile rubbed her neck. "I guess, but that's another go-to. Would it be special enough?"

Vent landed another shot. "Special, huh? Is there any place you've never taken someone before? Someplace not haunted by memories of a dozen one-night stands?"

Aile raised her finger in preparation to say something, but then stopped and thought. "…Oh my gosh. Grand Nuage Gallery!"

"Really? I mean, it's pricey, but I remember seeing one or two rich girls with you."

"It's kind of in that gray area, too pricey for us commoners, not pricey enough for the snobs."

"So you admit to dating snobs?"

"Cute snobs. Also."

She dashed forward, yanking the ball from the hands of an unprepared Vent, and then leapt up and slam dunked it as he stumbled back.

"YEAH!" she shouted as she dropped down. "You're weak!"

"Right, you're welcome for helping you!" Vent said.

"I'm encouraging you to grow, that's the best thank you there is!" Aile shouted as she ran for the house. She was just through the door when she checked her phone, finding another notification from the board.

Ugh, again? When is she gonna…

Aile stopped mid-step. As she stared at her phone in confusion, she mumbled a quiet, "What?"

-Mocking Zex's Female Acquaintance-

Zex, the girl you have been seen with is in all likelihood in possession of some fundamental character flaw, thus you should feel great shame in associating with her. Possible flaws include a penchant for causing severe bodily and/or emotional harm to others, questionable sexual decency, and an unwillingness to adequately tip workers upon receiving excellent service. Also, several Galleons who have seen her have stated that she does not meet their personal standards for attractiveness, which indicates that your standards are either very different or much, much lower.

Additionally, I would like to request a race. Please respond.

Blinking slowly, Aile looked up and stood there for a moment.

"…She's…trying really hard. Poor girl."

Prairie nervously adjusted her hair as she stood examining herself in the mirror. She had decided on a sleeveless light green dress, along with a triangular red brooch and a loose-fitting gold bracelet, but couldn't stop wondering if maybe there was some other small change she should make. She only left the mirror when her roommate, a woman with long purple hair and pink-tinted glasses, suddenly pulled her away.

"Huh?! Tulip?"

"Relax, sweetie! You look great! Now stop driving yourself crazy already!"

Prairie glanced back towards the mirror, but Tulip stepped in front of her. Relenting, she said, "Right…maybe I'm worrying too much. I just really want this to go well."

"Then the best thing you can do is calm down. Come on, breathe!"

Sitting down on the edge of her bed, Prairie took a deep breath.

"Why so much pressure, anyway? Don't you already know this girl?"

"Sort of," Prairie said. "But it's been so long…what if we've grown apart without realizing it? I might not be the person she remembers anymore."

Tulip sat down next to her. "Well of course you're not. And she isn't going to be the same person you remember! But that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Now you two get to fall in love for real, and learn all this new stuff about each other as you do!"

Prairie smiled. "…Yeah. Thanks, Tulip. That helps a lot."

Hugging her, Tulip said, "Good! You gotta learn to think more positive, sweetie."

Vibrations sounded from Prairie's phone. Her nerves returned as she checked the message, but she took another deep breath and nodded to Tulip.

"Have fun!"

It was a quick walk down to the dorm's nearest exit. Parked ahead on the sidewalk was a small four-door car with bright red paint, and leaning up against it was Aile, dressed in a tailored gray suit with a blue neck tie. She stepped forward with a grin, opening up the door as Prairie drew near.

"You look stunning," Aile greeted.

"Th-thanks. You look amazing too!"

"Heh, thanks. Ready to go?"

"Oh, yes!"

Aile waited until Prairie was in, gently closed her door, and then climbed into the driver's seat. As they pulled away from the school, Aile said, "It's not too long a drive. We'll be there in no time."

Prairie nodded, looking around the car. "I have to say, this isn't what I expected you to show up in."

"Yeah, formal wear and motorcycles don't mix so well—I've tried, I've failed. Giro has plenty of cars on hand for big deliveries, but this one he usually saves for fancy meetings with his clients. Normally I have to sign up for extra work to take it out, but you made such a good impression that he let me have it for free tonight!"

"Really? I didn't do anything special."

Aile looked over at her for just a moment. "Everything you do is special, Prairie."

Prairie blushed. "Hehe…getting a head start, are we?"

"Sorry, still learning to pace myself."

They made a bit more sporadic small talk until they arrived at the restaurant. Aile made sure to open Prairie's door for her and help her up, pausing a moment to kiss her hand before letting it go.

"I bet you do that for all the girls," Prairie teased.

Aile shook her head, looking unexpectedly serious. "Oh, no. That was always our thing. I'd never do that with anyone else."

Prairie blushed again, her heart quickening as Aile offered an arm and she looped her own around it. There was a small crowd inside, but Aile escorted her right to the host station, waiting only for one of the workers to approach.

"Reservations for Chaput," she said.

The two of them were led to a small table overlooking a lake, the rays of the setting sun poking through the surrounding trees to stir dancing lights on the water's surface. They took their seats, placed their order, and then were alone; Prairie realized her heart still had yet to quiet.

"S…So!" Prairie said. She then realized she didn't have a sentence to follow that with.

Aile grinned, resting her chin on her knuckles. "Never learned how. I tried crocheting once, though."

"….Haha…sorry. I'm still nervous."

"What can I do to help?"

Prairie shook her head. "Just…bear with me, I suppose."

"Done."

She paused to let out a breath. "I, um…don't really have much dating experience. Though, it's probably obvious."

"No, I wasn't thinking that at all. Just never found the right person, or…?"

"A bit of that, but my parents—well, my adoptive parents—were a bit strict. I didn't get many opportunities in the first place."

"Ah. You were living up in Prefecture C, right? Did you like it there?"

"I did! Big cities, very industrial, but there were still some nice parks I'd visit every now and then. Cold winters. But, a great place to cultivate an interest in engineering."

"Sounds like it. I remember you were always tinkering with things—I'm glad you've been able to pursue something you love."

Prairie nodded. "It's definitely helped me stay dedicated to my studies. And I owe a lot to my Sis as well!"

Aile inclined her head. "You have a sister?"

"Well, she's technically a cousin, several times removed. My relatives who adopted me, they're her parents. We took to each other pretty quickly. She was so easy to get along with, one of the kindest people I've ever met, and honestly, she was a genius! I learned more from her than I did from my teachers."

"Wow. You'll have to introduce me some time!"

Prairie's expression shifted then, suddenly growing sad and distant. "…I can't. She got into a fight with our parents, and moved out, and didn't keep in touch as far as I know. I'm not sure where she is right now."

Aile sat up straighter. "Oh…I'm so sorry, Prairie."

"Mm…it's okay," she murmured with a shake of her head. "If I know my Sis, she's studying somewhere too: once we both become engineers, I'm sure we'll find each other again." She brightened back up to add, "Just like you and I did."

Aile smiled, reaching out to take Prairie's hand. "Right. You definitely will."

The conversation was put on hold as their food was brought out. As they began, Prairie said, "So, racing. How did you end up getting into that?"

"I always enjoyed driving, so it probably would've happened eventually either way," Aile said. "But I got my start when I did because of Giro. I was poking around one day, and came across his old jacket and saber—he was annoyed, but I got the story out of him just the same."

"Oh, I didn't realize Giro was a racer too."

"Yep…Zero, the Legend of Prefecture Z. He went undefeated for virtually his entire career—no one in the country's been able to surpass his record. There were times when his bike was so heavily damaged people thought he'd never ride again, but each time, he came back to keep thrashing the competition." Aile sighed. "Wish I coulda seen him. But, by the time he adopted us, he'd been forced to retire because of his back. There are recordings, but it's not quite the same, y'know?"

"I see…"

Aile chuckled. "He wasn't happy when I said I wanted to take up his mantle. But, he realized it was just a matter of if he trained me properly or I went and did it on my own. Thus began my lessons!"

"Hehe, I'm glad he knew who he was dealing with. Was it tough to learn? It must be very complicated."

"Complicated, yeah. I knew how to drive, and I'd taken some kendo classes, so I really just needed to adapt those skills, but even that took a few years to master. Giro's one hell of a teacher, though. Before I knew it, I was on the track as Prefecture X's Enigma, Zex."

Prairie nodded. "Enigma, huh…does everyone get a title like that?"

"Nah: they're only given to the best racer in each Prefecture, the…" She laughed. "It sounds pretentious…the 'Chosen One' of each Prefecture."

"Ah, Chosen One? So you've got that feeding your ego."

With a shrug, Aile said, "You gotta eat."

"I suppose. Speaking of which, this is delicious!"

"Good! I was hoping you'd like it."

They continued to talk through the meal, wandering from one subject to the next to the next, watching the sky slowly darken and the moon set out on its nightly rounds. The lake seemed to fade in and out of being, lost in the blackness one moment, silhouetted by pale light the next, but beautiful as it was, Aile and Prairie always ended up looking back at each other instead. Eventually the time came for them to leave, and with some reluctance, they made their way back to the car.

"This has been wonderful," Prairie said. "Thank you, Aile."

"Thank you for joining me," Aile said. "It's like a dream come true to be able to spend so much time with you again."

"I know what you mean." She looked up to admire the stars.

Aile scratched her head a little, then said, "Um…if you're not in a hurry to get back, I know a place where you can see the stars a lot more clearly."

Prairie faced her. "Really? I'd like to see that."

"Great! C'mon."

The drive lasted mere minutes. Up a mountain road just off the highway, they came to a small outcropping above an untouched patch of nature; stepping out, Prairie looked skyward to see dozens and dozens of stars twinkling over them, and her jaw dropped.

"Wow…" she said. "I haven't seen them this clearly in years! It's beautiful!"

Aile grinned, sitting down on the hood of the car. "One advantage to living out in the middle of nowhere."

Prairie giggled, taking a seat next to her. "Mind if we stay for a while?"

Aile shook her head, leaning back against the windshield. Prairie joined her, and together they stared up at the sky.

"In the mood for some music?" Aile asked quietly.

"Hm, depends."

"Let's see what's on…"

Aile clicked the car remote, turning the radio on to let a gentle melody wrap around them.

"And I'd give up forever to touch you

'Cause I know that you feel me somehow"

Prairie nodded. "Yeah…that sounds nice…"

"You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be

And I don't want to go home right now"

Aile hummed happily. Tentatively, Prairie reached out and brushed her hand—her fingers opened to entwine with hers, the heat of another person contrasting wildly with the cold metal beneath.

"And all I can taste is this moment

And all I can breathe is your life"

"…Hey…Aile?"

"Yes?"

"Are you…doing anything next weekend?"

"I have a race on Saturday, but I'm free otherwise."

"Oh."

"And sooner or later it's over

I just don't wanna miss you tonight"

"Could we…maybe go out again?" Prairie mumbled.

Aile rolled onto her side. Prairie met her gaze, her sweet, loving gaze, and felt her breath stolen away. Aile pulled Prairie's hand up, kissed it, and said, "Absolutely."

Prairie smiled. Her heart was beating quickly, but it felt right somehow—like something in her deepest self had truly awakened for the first time in ages, maybe the first time ever. She still wasn't strong enough to persist holding that gaze, but when they both looked back to the stars, Aile's grip on her hand remained just as tight.

"And I don't want the world to see me

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's meant to be broken

I just want you to know who I am"

Notes:

-Finally felt like filling out another chapter. No race this time, but since this chapter centered so much around the date it seemed like the most natural endpoint for now. It'll give me more of a chance to build up Pandora next time than just sliding right into it.

-"That's All" is a song that's really been resonating with me these past few months, with the frustrations that this iteration of Aile personifies. And it only makes sense to begin a chapter with Genesis, eh?

-Pandora's getup is quite plain, but I feel like she wouldn't care all that much about her racer persona and would only invest in the bare minimum. Her bike is probably also going to be pretty straightforward, but she'll have a unique weapon, which you'll see next time.

-Just for clarity's sake, Weil here is not the old man from the Zero series. I haven't gotten to show it much yet, but the racer names of the characters are drawn from their Biometal whenever possible, hence why Giro went by Zero when he was in the league. (Admittedly, this puts Pandora and Prometheus in an odd spot, but who knows if we'll ever even need to use their civilian names.) The one manipulating the Galleons here is a character who used Model W in the original series, and you can probably guess which one. I mean…there's only, like, two options, so…

-I'm really enjoying writing Aile and Vent's relationship like this, the only way this could be better is if I upped the rating so they could swear as much as they want. But, I should show some restraint…

-Green might seem an odd choice for Prairie, but it's actually referring to a piece of art that came with one of the ZX CDs, which had a drama track where Aile and Prairie basically go on a date. The dress there is more elaborate than this one, but I wanted to use it as a basis nonetheless.

-This is where I realized some dialogue might flow more naturally if these iterations of the characters had surnames. Keeping with the established trend, I wanted to go with French surnames, so "Chaput" means "hood or cloak", in reference to Aile's secret identity; I considered going with "Desroches", which means "from the rocks" (for the pun), but the best option for Prairie was "Deschamps" ("from the fields", fields=prairies) and I didn't want them to be too similar. Giro's going to be using "Marchand," which means "merchant"—it's…kind of what he does.

-I, ah, haven't written many dates? Haven't been on any, either (contain your shock), so I'm a bit nervous as to how that scene may've turned out. I really have no clue about any of the things this story is about, not sure this was the best idea but YOLO I guess. Will continue striving to improve my skills.

-I've loved "Iris" for a few years now—my sister is a huge Goo Goo Dolls fan—and when I was in the middle of writing this date it came on the radio and it just felt kind of perfect. "It came on the radio" is probably going to be used to justify a lot of the songs that find their way into this story. (Though with a name like that, maybe I should've saved it for an X fic.)