A/N: Tadaa! This is the last chapter x3 So let's get right to it!

Chapter 16 – The Carnival

Hikari let out a groan at the sight of her hair. Her mirror showed that it was sticking up everywhere and no matter how much she brushed it, it just wouldn't stay down. It was the worst possible day to have a bad hair day. Kengo would be here in ten minutes! She'd be so embarrassed if he saw her like this. "Ah, what do I do? What do I do?"

Her mum smiled at her while leaning against the doorframe. "Need any help, dear?"

"Yes, please!" Hikari cried, relieved. She stood still while Ayako started combing her hair. "Thanks mum, you're a lifesaver." She watched her reflection in delight as her mum tamed her hair. Her blue hair was put up in a pony-tail, although her two yellow clips were still there to keep her hair in place.

Just as Ayako finished, the door-bell rang. Hikari jumped up and ran downstairs to open the door. "Hey Kengo!" She gave her boyfriend a short hug and grinned. Yup, her boyfriend. A few months ago, if anyone told her Kenny would be her future boyfriend she'd have scoffed and said that it was impossible. But here they were now.

Kengo smiled back sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. It was still quiet unbelievable to Kengo. Did he really confess that they? Or was it a dream? Looking into Hikari's radiant face he knew that even if it was a dream he'd never want to wake up.

A giggle made them both realize that they'd been staring at each other for about a minute. Ayako was standing at the foot of the stairs and was observing the two. "It was about time you two got together."

Hikari blushed slightly. "Mama!"

Ayako giggled again and winked. "Oh, run along you two. I don't want to keep you waiting on your date." Ignoring Hikari's embarrassed cry she turned to Kengo. "Take care of my daughter."

He rubbed the back of his head again, "I will."

Taking Hikari's hand, he led her out and they started walking. He snuck a glance at her, other than her hair she wasn't dressed differently; she was wearing her usual black top and pink skirt. This made him relieved since he just wore his usual clothes as well.

"So, where are we going?" Hikari asked. She had decided to let Kengo surprise her and take her wherever he wanted for their first date. Their first official date as a couple. The thought of it made Hikari feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"You'll just have to wait," said Kengo, wanting to keep it a surprise. Hikari frowned which made Kengo laugh. "We're nearly there."

After ten minutes, Hikari looked up and a ferris wheel started coming into view. She gasped and squeezed Kengo's hand. The carnival! He was taking her to the carnival. It ran every year and today was its opening day. Only a few people were allowed in and somehow Kengo managed to get some tickets.

"How did you get the tickets?" Hikari asked in awe.

"From Haruka, actually." Seeing Hikari's surprised expression he continued. "She was going to go together with Shuu but he refused to go to the carnival. 'Not his style' apparently. So she said she might as well give them to me. Lucky right?"

Hikari nodded. "Is anyone else we know coming?"

"Not that I know of. I'm kind of glad that they're not." Hikari gave he a questioning look. "Well, I thought that since this is our first date that, you know, it'd be nice if it was just the two of us." Embarrassed, Kengo looked away from Hikari.

Nevertheless Hikari felt happy to hear that. "I'm glad it's just us too." She kissed Kengo's cheek and he turned pink. She giggled at the sight. "Now c'mon! Bet I can beat you at all the carnival games."

Five minutes later, Kengo was making Hikari eat her words as he completely obliterated her in a game where you had to make shoot two out of three basketballs. They had had four turns and Hikari had only scored one altogether and Kengo already shot 10 baskets.

"That was so unfair," Hikari grumbled. "You know I'm no good at basketball."

Kengo smirked. "Who was it that said that she could be me at all the carnival games?" She scowled at him while he continued having a smug look on his face. Suddenly he stopped walking and turned Hikari around by her shoulders and started pushing her towards another the right.

"Eh? What's wrong Kengo?"

In a not at all calm voice Kengo said,"Nothing! Nothing! Let's go this way!"

Hikari managed to glance over her shoulder and her eyes widened. Cotton candy. Freeing herself from Kengo's grip she rushed to the stall and bought two sticks of cotton candy. "Here you go," she said cheerfully to a fearful Kengo.

"You do remember what happens when you eat cotton candy."

Hikari waved it off. "Its fine, I'm sure I won't get too hyper. Besides, a date is exiting already as it is."

He took that as a sign that Hikari was enjoying the date as well and smiled. Hand in hand they browsed the stalls until only two minutes later Hikari had finished her cotton candy.

"Mine's finished already," she said mournfully.

Kengo took a bite out of his. "That's what you get for eating too fast."

"Hmm…" Without warning, the bluenette bit a whole mouthful of his cotton candy.

"Hey! That was mine!"

Hikari swallowed then stuck her tongue out at him. "I paid for it anyway."

"Yes, but you gave it to me so that made it mine," Kengo insisted. "You owe me."

She waved her hand dismissively. "Fine, fine."

They walked past a couple of kids chasing each other, which reminded Hikari of when the two of them were younger. She went to one or two carnivals with Kengo before, but never on a date. It was nice for a change.

The atmosphere in the carnival today was particularly great as it wasn't too crowded and there weren't too many kids. Hikari noticed that there were a few other couples as well.

They arrived at a red-striped stand and were greeted by an old man. "Welcome! The aim of the game is to knock all the cans down. You have three goes to throw the ball. It's five dollars per game."

"Five? That's a rip-off!" Kengo said, glaring at the man.

"Hey, if you get it in one go you get one of these," he replied, gesturing to two different teddy bears. They both had pink ribbons around their necks although one was white and one was a light brown.

Kengo snorted. "Who needs them? Let's go Hika-" He stopped when he saw Hikari staring at the two bears with sparkling eyes.

She turned her head towards him, her eyes still shining. "I really want one."

Look away Kengo, he told himself. If he looked away then he wouldn't be affected by her pleading, but somehow it was just impossible for him. Hikari took both of his hands. "Please?" Feeling his face heat up, he knew he just couldn't refuse her.

He sighed in defeat. "Alright!"

"Yay!" Hikari gave him another hug.

"Let me warn you kid, it usually takes ten tries."

Kengo ignored this and took his first shot. It missed completely and the old man laughed loudly.

He felt Hikari's reassuring grip on his shoulder. "No need to worry, you'll get it next time."

Feeling encouraged, Kengo took aim and with all his concentration threw the ball. This time it hit straight into the middle of the stack and all the cans collapsed. The stall owner stared at Kengo in disbelief. Reluctantly he handed over the giant white bear over to Hikari who hugged it tightly as the she and Kengo left the stall.

"That was amazing Kengo," she gushed. "The man said most people have to do ten turns but you did it in only two! How lucky is that?"

"Luck? That was skill." Hikari nudged him playfully and Kengo's smile widened. "Okay, okay, maybe I was lucky. After all, I'm pretty sure none of the people who were at his stall had you the give them good luck."

Hikari's cheeks turned pink for the second time today. She didn't quite know how to respond to that. Kengo didn't seem to need her to say anything so she just walked on beside him. Spotting a tea-cup ride she tugged at Kengo's arm. "Let's ride that!"

"Sure. But what are we going to do with your oversized teddy bear."

"We can leave it in one of those lockers," Hikari said.

A few minutes later they had stuffed the teddy bear into a big locker. It took up the whole locker space and if they had anything else to put in it wouldn't fit. Kengo reckoned they should have got something a little smaller.

Hikari glanced back as they had left the locker room. "Hope Ken-chan will be safe."

"Of course it'll be safe, that's why we put it there. Wait. Ken-chan?"

"I named it after you of course!" Hikari beamed.

Kengo couldn't decide whether to be flattered by the gesture or completely horrified that a giant ribbon-wearing teddy bear was what represented him in Hikari's mind.

Hikari, reading Kengo's thoughts, hugged him. "You both are very huggable!"

That made the hug-count up to three today. Best day ever, thought Kengo.

Settling down into their purple-coloured tea-cup, Kengo was having second-thoughts about going on this ride. He got dizzy quite easily. With a loud beep, the ride started and the tea cups started sliding and spinning around. Hikari laughed joyfully while Kengo closed his eyes, trying not to puke. She put a hand on his, but even that couldn't stop Kengo from throwing up his breakfast (with his cotton-candy included) once the ride had ended. Fortunately, there was a plentiful amount of paper bags kept by the ride operator, this ride in particular placed many others in Kengo's position.

"I'm sorry about this." Kengo murmured feeling slightly ashamed that he threw up on their first date.

Hikari rubbed his back tenderly. "No need to worry, at least this makes our first date unforgettable."

"Let's go visit a few more stalls," he suggested. "I'll probably feel better after a while."

They played the hammer and bell game, where everyone watching was surprised to see a girl of Hikari's stature managing to ring the gong. Kengo suspected that it was because of the cotton candy she ate earlier.

Later, they stopped at a stall selling cute animal masks. Hikari tried on one shaped like a cat, a dog, a rabbit, a bear, and eventually a penguin. "I love this one, what about you?"

Tilting his head to the side slightly Kengo stared at it. "It looks really cute."

"How about two matching ones for the lovely couple?" said the lady at the stand.

She handed Kengo one similar to Hikari's and he put it on and turned to Hikari. "How does it look?"

His response was a girl in a penguin-mask laughing like there was no tomorrow. The combination of her laughter with that mask made Kengo laugh as well and the two just stood there with the stall-owner looking at them amused. "How about I give them to you two for free?"

Hikari took of her mask and shook her head. "Oh we couldn't do that."

"I insist! It's opening day anyway and as far as I can tell this must be your first date."

"How'd you know?" Kengo asked, surprised.

"You learn to notice these things when you get older," the lady said with a knowing smile.

"Thank you!" Hikari and Kengo said in unison.

The couple walked along for a little before Hikari looked up at the ferris wheel again. "Oh no, we forgot to go to the ferris wheel."

Kengo raised an eye-brow at her. "I didn't forget. In fact why don't we go now?"

"But it's getting dark." The sky had turned a beautiful red and the sun was visibly setting in the distance. The carnival was now slightly emptier since some of the people were going home.

"That's the best part," Kengo said, without explaining why. Hikari didn't question him though, and followed him into one of the compartments. The ride started just as the sun had completely set.

Hikari looked down and frowned. "I can't see anything."

Chuckling, Kengo took her hand. "Look up! It's coming."

She did as he said and her eyes widened as the sky exploded into sparks of ruby, sapphire and emerald. Hikari absolutely loved fireworks, it was one of her favourite things. She marvelled as the colours painted the sky.

Kengo watched her delighted expression fondly. After all they had been through; sitting here with her was definitely worth it. Hikari turned around and smiled at him softly. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her gently on the lips. Hikari closed her eyes and held on to him, her heart beating out of control. When Kengo pulled back she buried her face in his chest, clutching at the back of his shirt. She could hear Kengo's own heart beating just as fast as hers.

"Kengo?" Hikari whispered. "Can we just stay like this forever?"

"Alright," he whispered back, stroking her hair.

They stayed there together, for a long while, holding on to each other, and never wanting to let go.

A/N: THE END! Sorry if it was a bit cheesy, but, hey I could use some cheese every now and again. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. I sincerely appreciate you all. That was the last chapter and I'm not planning on any extra chapters. I'll probably edit a few chapters in the future when I have the time. Of course, in my head-canon Kenny and Dawn get married and live happily ever after but that's up to you to imagine. Once again, thank you! Penguinshipping forever!