Otto
#4 of It's A Date! And a Date, and a Date...
Chiro was awoken the next morning with a polite knock on the door, and a voice calling out. "Chiro, can I come in?"
Chrio rolled out of his covers, wearing some simple pajamas, and still half asleep. "Huh? Sure..." He lazily swung his feet over the side of his bed, and stood up.
"Good morning, Chiro!" Otto chirped, stepping into the room with a big smile on his face, and a vase of flowers in his arm. The flowers were tiger lillies, and they stood out against the cool blue interior of the Super Robot, not to mention the vibrant colored vase that housed them. He handed it to Chiro with evident delight. "I got you flowers! Cause it's traditional, and also cause they're supposed to represent bringing pretty stuff for people we think are swell, and I think you're really neat!"
"Wha...?!" Being handed the vibrant flowers, their smell wafting into his nose, quickly awoke Chiro. They were beautiful, orange and black... his colors he supposed. He blushed, not used to such a thing. Being the guy, it was usually him that gave the presents to Jinmay, not the other way around. "Wow, thanks Otto." He set the vase down on his nightstand, and turned back to the green cyborg. "I uh... didn't think you'd start our date this early."
"Oh, we can start whenever you want!" Otto waved his metallic hand flippantly. "I just wanted to talk to you, first." He stepped forward and then gently wrapped his arms around Chiro. "I had to say thank you. For giving us all a chance like this. It means a lot, and everyone was so scared last night, but now they're so happy." He smiled up at Chiro. "You're really great, Chiro!"
"Haha, thanks Otto, I mean, I didn't really do much." He rubbed his head in embarrassment as Otto hugged him, "Well, do you mind if I get change and stuff?" He didn't exactly want to strip in front of the monkey, even if they were dating.
"Sure! Oh, and here!" Otto scampered back to the door, and grabbed something just outside the frame, and scampered back. "These are for our date!" He handed Chiro a helmet and a pair of goggles. "Just come to my workshop when you want to get started!" He called as he retreated from the room and gave Chiro his privacy.
Chiro wondered what they could possibly be for, before setting them down and walking to his bathroom to get ready for the day ahead of him. A few minutes later, he emerged from his bedroom, now dressed, and made his way to the kitchen, grabbing a piece of fruit, waving to Antauri who was conversing with an eating Sprx.
"Hello there, Chiro." Antauri said as he looked up from the conversation, "Has Otto approached you yet about the day you were having?"
"Hey, kid." Sprx smiled at him, as he often did, but there was something more to it this morning. A slight curve of his lips, the way his head was tilted, the way his tail swung slowly behind him... he seemed to be looking at Chiro in a new light.
Chiro nearly choked on the apple in his throat as he caught how Sprx was looking at him. Had he always been looking at him like that, and he hadn't noticed? He quickly swallowed it down, smiling nervously, "Uh, yeah. He told me to meet him in his workshop when he was ready. I was gonna head there after this."
Antauri smiled, a very small amount of envy showing through on his face, "Well, I hope you two enjoy yourselves." As long as they didn't enjoy themselves, too much, went unspoken, although Chiro swore he saw it in Antauri's expression.
"Oh, Chiro! I meant to ask you, did you roll the dice again? I mean, I'm not gonna step on Otto's toes, but I'd like to know when my turn is coming up." Sprx inquired, deciding that asking Chiro who got his first kiss was something better left answered when Antauri wasn't around.
Chiro shook his head, "Uh, no. Not yet, I mean, I just woke up. I guess after my date with Otto?" That seemed a good a time as any, to him at least.
Antauri nodded, "That seems more than fair. It would let you enjoy your date without worrying about the next team member you would be dating." If Sprx had asked, coincidentally, Antauri would have maintained his composure, and said that they would likely decide it the same way as dating, all while Chiro would have blushed profusely.
When Chiro was on his way down to the engineering bay, he crossed paths with Mandarin, who seemed completely shocked to see him, and froze in place before composing himself and closing the distance between them. "You are... going on your date with Otto, then?"
"Uh... yeah. I figured I might as well get an early start, you know?" He smiled a bit and shrugged, knowing that Mandarin was probably taking this the worst out of all of them, knowing that he wasn't the sole focus of his affections. He had found the former leader had warmed up to him quickly after he joined, which he hadn't thought anything of at the time, but now realized the reason for.
Mandarin seemed uncharacteristically lost and fidgeted restlessly, his tail curling around him defensively. He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again. "I... I sincerely hope that you have a good time with him. I mean it!" He added, as though Chiro had expressed doubt.
Chiro nodded, smiling slightly, "Thanks Mandarin. I... uh..." He really didn't know what he could say to make the situation less awkward. "I'll try, you have a good day while I'm out, okay?"
Mandarin nodded and then moved to walk past Chiro, pausing just long enough to reach out and gingerly pat Chiro's leg, looking up at him to make sure it was all right before he continued on his way.
Chrio quickly made the remainder of the way to Otto's workshop, glad not to have any more awkward encounters along the way. He knocked on the door, holding the helmet and goggles in hand, "Otto? I'm here."
"Come on in, Chiro! I already finished it!" Otto called out, wiping off his hands with a rag and then heading over to the water fountain to finish washing them. When Chiro stepped inside, Otto proudly gestured to the vehicle under the spotlight. "Ta-da! It's the Super Robot Speedbuggy! I'm gonna take you for a ride around the Zone of Wasted Years!"
"Whoa." Chiro stared for a few seconds, before smirking a little, chuckling, "I figured you were going to build something for me, but not something so... elaborate." He circled around the little buggy, noting it would seat the two of them quite comfortably. "It looks really nice."
"Thanks!" Otto beamed at the compliment. "I almost worked on it all night, but the others made me go to bed so I wouldn't be tired for our date."
"Ha, that was probably for the best." Chrio grinned, knowing that Otto would have indeed stayed up all night to work on a project, having done it several times before. "So, the wasted zone huh? You think it'll be safe?"
"Yup! We won't be going too far away, and I got plenty of defenses, just in case!" With a pleasant smile, Otto pointed a remote at the Super Robot Speedbuggy, which immediately sprouted spikes all over its surface, the tips of which began to glow with electrical energy as a transparent sphere surrounded the vehicle. "It even has a force field! And seatbelts! And a cupholder!" Otto cheerfully listed its attributes as he held up a scanner towards Chiro and registered his vital data to make sure the Speedbuggy recognized him as an ally.
"Man, you really went all out for this, huh? No wonder you nearly went without sleep. How long have you been working on this?" He continued to inspect the vehicle, appreciating the craftsmanship Otto had put behind it. Even the seats seemed to be high quality.
Otto modestly rubbed the back of his helmet. "Aw, I had the frame for a while now, I just needed to figure out what to use it for. And the other parts I just had laying around. I think they were meant to make you a present." Otto grinned at him, and hopped into the driver's seat. "Ready to go?"
Chiro nodded as he slipped on the helmet and goggles, "Sure, let's go." He jumped in besides Otto, and the engine roared to life. "Whoa, this thing is powerful!"
Otto chuckled, and slipped his own goggles into place, a smirk on his lips as he reveled in his creation. The press of a button, and the doors to the bay opened and revealed the sky before them. Otto shifted the gear shaft, and the wheels squealed as they peeled out of the hanger and into the open air. "YAH-HOO!" Otto whooped as they plummeted, landing on the ground with a thump and never slowing down. Chiro would notice that he was not being slammed around like one would rightfully expect given the amount of momentum the sudden twists and stops they were experiencing; it seemed that Otto had worked very hard on the shock absorbers, leaving Chiro able to fully enjoy the ride.
Chrio momentarily wondered why Otto had goggles when his helmet already had eye protectors, but guessed Otto just liked the look of them; and he agreed, they looked strangely cute on the green monkey. He immediately went back to enjoying the ride, laughing at the fast twists and turns as Otto drove through the outskirts of the city and into the wasted zone. The amount of work Otto had been able to put into the machine was truly impressive, especially considering the small amount of time he had, it just made him appreciate the mechanic all the more.
Riding in the Super Robot Speedbuggy was akin to a joyride in a freewheeling roller coaster with Otto at the wheel. A tug of a lever sent them jumping high into the sky, a spin of the wheel had them taking sharp turns to avoid obstacles, and the push of a button had them accelerating to blurring speeds. Eventually, the green monkey slowed them down to a more leisurely pace so that they could more enjoy the sights of the strange landscape instead of whizzing by them.
Taking a moment away from viewing the scenery, Chiro turned to Otto with a smile, "This thing is amazing Otto! Like, date or not, I'm having a great time!" He laughed, "I mean, I always knew you were great at building stuff, but this really takes the cake. Well, besides all the work you do to keep the robot running that is."
"Thanks, Chiro!" Otto grinned at him, using his tail to reach over and give Chiro a quick hug around his torso. Honestly, Otto had a lot of fun maintaining the Super Robot, and it wasn't as though he didn't have plenty of help when he needed it. All of them had gravitated to the roles they most wanted to play, though perhaps none of them enjoyed their job as much as Otto did. "I'm glad you like it! Hey, do you wanna drive for a while?" He offered, pressing a button to make a steering wheel pop up in front of Chiro.
"What?" Chiro was more than a little surprised when the wheel popped up in front of him. "Are you sure? I don't know how to drive, and it took me months to learn how to use the robot correctly." Indeed, they were very lucky the Skeleton King's attacks had been fairly small scale before that point, or else they would have been in big trouble. Not to say he didn't want to, just that he wanted far more to not wreck Otto's creation.
"Sure! This area is pretty flat, so there isn't much to run into! Plus I put like a million safety thingies on this baby." Otto assured him with a thumbs up. "Go for it, Chiro!"
While Chiro doubted there was quite a million, even for Otto that would be a lot of work, he felt that if Otto said it was really okay, then he might as well try. His hands rested on the wheel uncomfortably, and he began to turn the cart left and right while Otto kept on the gas at a low speed. "Uh, is that okay?"
"Yep! You're doin' great!" Otto made it a point to accelerate a bit to let Chiro get the feel of a higher speed. "Wanna try the turbo boost yet?"
He gulped as he got used to the high speed, feeling somewhat uneasy at first, but soon finding it exhilarating, "Okay, yeah, let's try it."
Otto giggled, and pressed the button to activate the rocket in the back, and they were both pushed back in their seats by the G-forces as Otto whooped with glee.
Chiro screamed in a mix of horror and joy as they rocketed forward at high speeds, flying along the ground, wind whipping past them. "Whooooaaaa!" He felt his stomach drop as they sped along for another few seconds, before the boost cut out and they slowly fell back to normal speeds.
"Hee hee hee...!" Otto was all but breathless after that jaunt, and he patted Chiro's shoulder. "See? I knew you'd do great!"
Chiro nodded, "Yeah, that was... wow! That was really fun Otto!" He grinned as Otto took over driving again.
The green monkey was happy to show off by driving them in an erratic path to demonstrate the Super Robot Speedbuggy's full range of abilities, and by the time they were ready to turn around and head back, they were both a little worn out, so Otto set it on "Otto-Pilot" to drive them back as he leaned back and relaxed. "Thanks for coming out with me, Chiro!"
Chiro chuckled as he spotted the setting Otto had switched it too, "Really? 'Otto' pilot? That's something I'd expect from Sprx." He continued chuckling as he too relaxed. "No problem Otto, it was really fun, I'd be glad to do it again sometime."
"Hey, he's not the only one who knows how to have fun!" Otto retorted, chuckling. They rode in comfortable silence for a while, then Otto looked down at his hand, deliberating. Should he...? Gathering his courage, he reached over and gently settled his hand on top of Chiro's own.
'Fun', right. Chiro rolled his eyes but allowed the monkey to enjoy his pun. He began to nod off a little as they rode along, and as such barely noticed when Otto placed his hand on his. When he looked down at the strange feeling, and saw Otto's hand on his, he blushed lightly, but decided to leave it there. It felt... nice.
Otto was content with just this much contact, and didn't try to push things any further than that, though he did gently rub the top of Chiro's hand as they rode along, the Super Robot looming up in the distance. All in all, it had been a pretty good date.