Alas, another post, another showing that I do not own any of the characters in the Chronicles of Riddick…..Thank you for reminding me…..

The next evening, Vaako began his journey into preparing for his date. He hopped into the shower and he, well, he did what most people do in the shower, which is wash and condition his hair and wash his body. He finished, dried off, and applied a more than generous amount of cologne.

Afterwards, as Vaako dressed, to impress, for his date, he experienced an amazing bout of nervousness. He suddenly realized that he did not know how to conduct himself on a date. Or, of course, what one did on such an event. He debated with himself as to whether or not he should ask his father for a bit of father-son advice.

He left his room and slowly walked down stairs and down the hallway to his parents' room. He knocked on the door and heard a few muffled sounds, than his father's eye appeared in the doorway that was still held mostly shut by a thick chain.

"Umm, Melancton, I need some help."

"What've you done now, boy? Something else that I have to bail you out of?" his father asked gruffly.

"It's not that. I've…got a date tonight, and I was just wondering what I should do," was Vaako's timid response.

"…oh…" said his father, Melancton.

Then the door slammed in Vaako's face, and he heard his father and mother speak a few inaudible words, followed by the sounds of a chain falling and the opening of the door. His father stepped out, sadly wearing only a pair of hakama; the wide legged pants that the older generation of men preferred to wear on Gaki.

"A date, you say. With a girl?" Melancton asked.

"Of course, with a girl," Vaako sneered, resisting the urge to smack his father upside the head with a blunt object. "While I was dressing, I realized that I really had no clue what people did on dates." Suffice it to say, the only person that Vaako did not act like a hard-ass around was his father, and he felt that he could say anything to him without any prejudice against his confusion.

"Well, musuko, let's go downstairs and sit at the table."

As Vaako and his father made their way through the house, Vaako began to have doubts about the whole 'dating mess' that he had gotten himself into. Who's fault is this anyway, he though, then Oh, yeah. Mine.

As they took their seats that the table, Melancton began the conversation anew with, "Alright, Vaako, there is a time when every dad must say these things to his son…again. Okay, it all starts with the birds and the bees and…"

He did not have a chance to finish his speech, for Vaako interrupted, "Oh, my lord, Mel, it's not sex, I can figure that out on my own. It's a bloody date." There was a look of utmost disgust plastered on his face as he waited for his father to respond.

"Only being safe, thought it would be better to cover all the bases, not just the details that lead up to it." He sighed and shook his head, running his hands through his sandy blonde hair. "Anyway, on to the specifics. In order to have a good date, you need to know what sort of person this girl is. Tell me about her."

Vaako began his description of Yume, everything from how she looked to how she acted and whatever he could think of in between.

Finally, he took a breath and his father, sensing an opening, cut in. "Well, a date isn't difficult, really. I recommend a dinner, a movie, a nice walk. First date stuff, keep it simple, she what she's all about. Then, if all goes well, you should learn more about her, and if you like it, the next date will be more interesting."

He looked at his son, who was so different from himself, not only in personality, which was understandable, but also in appearance. Where Melancton was loud and boisterous, Vaako was quiet and kept to himself. He would have at least liked a son who looked a bit like him, short, stout, blonde-headed and tanned, instead of a tall, lean boy with raven black hair that fell hung down to his eyebrows, and a problem with the sun.

Sighing, he looked at Vaako and decided that his clothing wasn't going to cut it. "Kid, you're not wearing that now, are you?"

"What's wrong with it?" inquired Vaako, wondering what was wrong with the nice suit and tie combination he had dress in for his night out. "I think that I look nice."

"Sure, nice, if it was a funeral that you were going to, tonight. You're young; it's a date, dress like it, look like you want to have fun. Not like you're horribly depressed." He almost tried to suppress a giggle after his last statement, but in the end decided against it.

"Alright." Vaako said, and, thanking his dad, went back to his room and began changing, dressing not to impress, but to have…fun.

Ten minutes later, he found himself standing in front of his mirror in a pair of boxers and a "wife beater" tank. While looking through his closet, he had realized that he had no real idea of how to dress for fun. He supposed just normal pants and a shirt would do, but that just didn't seem "datish" enough when he put it on.

At last, he decided on a pair of nice slacks and a button-up shirt, but he still wasn't sure about the way he looked. But he couldn't do anything about it now, because 1. He reviled the thought of once again begging his father for help, and 2. his date was in about half and hour.

So, he grabbed his wallet and shoved it, quite unceremoniously, into his pocket, and threw on his coat.

He walked towards the front door, and spotted his father still sitting at the kitchen table.

"So, Melancton, better?" He decided to have a second opinion before leaving the house.

"Great, Vaako, no woman could resist you in that," he chuckled.

"…"

"No, it's nice."

Vaako opened the door and was almost out of the house when he heard his father say, "I wish you as much luck as I can. Have a great night." Vaako looked back into the house and gave his dad a tiny smile and made his way towards his newest venture.