Love Is Batty

It was a quiet day at Rescue Ranger headquarters. There were no crimes being comitted or innocents in need of saving, so everyone was just taking it easy. Chip was on his bed, reading his favorite Sureluck Jones book, Gadget was tinkering in her workshop, and Monty and Zipper had gone to the docks to catch the cheese boat. Meanwhile, Dale was in the living room, reading his comic books.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"I GOT IT!" Dale yelled, scrambling to his feet and rushing over.

He opened the door to reveal Foxglove, a female bat he had crossed paths with with some time ago. Their encounter had led to another of the Rescue Rangers' cases. After the case was resolved, Foxglove would regularly visit, just so she could be around Dale.

"Hi, cutie." Foxglove smiled.

"Oh, hey, Foxglove." Dale replied.

"Whatchya doin'?" Foxglove asked flirtatiously.

"Nothin' much." Dale shrugged. "Just reading comic books."

"Mind if I join you?" Foxglove fluttered her eyelashes.

"Sure, why not?" Dale replied, a tad flustered.

Though it didn't seem like it to the people around him, Dale wasn't stupid. He was merely carefree, preferring not to focus on the more complicated aspects of life, so he could enjoy the fun side of existence. He was well aware of Foxglove's infatuation with him. Because of it, he was often nervous around her; No girl had ever acted like that around him before. Over time, he had grown used to her overt affections, looking past them and enjoying her company. She could always be counted on to express an interest in his hobbies, except for his Iron Goose albums (Due to her sensitive ears, of course). She was also a great means of support for Dale, never having anything bad to say about him. She would never call him a "dummy" or a "goof-up", unlike others. She truly believed he could do anything, and often told him so. Whenever Dale was down over making a mistake while on a case, Foxglove's unflinching admiration never failed to lift his spirits.

Things came to a head just a week before. Foxglove had joined Dale in watching a late-night movie. Snuggling up against him, she had eventually fallen asleep, lying against his side. Dale was a little uncomfortable at first, but decided to let her sleep. As she lent against him, Dale noticed for the first time that she smelt of lavender (Or was it lilacs? Dale wasn't exactly an expert on flowers). Out of sheer impulse, Dale found himself putting his arm around her shoulder. In response, the sleeping bat snuggled even closer to him. An odd, warm sensation suddenly bloomed in Dale's chest. Not even Gadget had ever made him feel such a thing. Dale knew instinctively what that feeling meant: He had fallen for Foxglove.

This realisation had opened up a whole new problem for Dale. He was afraid to tell Foxglove how he felt, for fear of screwing things up, as he did all too often. He knew how much, Foxglove liked him, but he didn't want to risk ruining their friendship. At the same time, the expressive chipmunk was unsure of how long he could keep his feelings hidden inside.

For perhaps the first time ever, Dale was unable to focus on his comic book. He kept sneaking glances at Foxglove, his normally smiling face furrowed with worry. Before long, Foxglove noticed him looking at her.

"Is something wrong, Dale?" She asked. "You look a little worried about something."

"Uhhh..." Dale mumbled.

"You can tell me." Foxglove smiled warmly.

"Well, I..." Dale stuttered. It looked like he had no choice. Swallowing hard, he decided to go for broke. "Well, uh, Foxy, there's new movie showing at the drive-in, Alien Troopers III, and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me... you know, to watch it."

"I'd love to." Foxglove smiled brightly.

"But what if I said we wouldn't be going as friends?" Dale continued.

"Not friends?" Foxglove tilted her head quizically. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if it was, like... a date." Dale finished.

"You mean... you and me..." Foxglove whispered barely able to believe what was happening.

"Yeah." Dale blushed. "Truth is, I really like you, Foxy. A whole lot. So, whattaya say?"

"Oh, Dale!" Foxglove squealed, leaping up and wrapping her wings around him tightly.

"Um, Foxy?" Dale gasped. "Too tight... can't breathe..."

"Oh, sorry." Foxglove let go. "Got a little overexcited there."

"That's okay." Dale smiled. "You're a pretty good hugger, you know."

"Thanks." Foxglove blushed.

"Shall we?" Dale smiled, offering his arm.

"We shall." Foxglove wrapped her wings around the offered appendage, leaning in close. She quickly planted a kiss on her love's cheek.

"Wow." Dale whispered.

"Plenty more where that came from." Foxglove purred.

"Sure hope so." Dale grinned.

The two lovers departed the HQ, unaware that Chip had caught Dale's confession, and had been watching the preceding events from the kitchen.

'Way to go, pal.' Chip thought. 'Looks like I've got a clean shot at Gadget now...'

With that thought in mind, the fedora-wearing chipmunk strutted in the direction of Gadget's workshop.

The End.

(Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers and all associated characters are the property of Disney.)