"Challenge Accepted" [Shichiro/Takahiro]

"Well. He has really pretty gray eyes." Shichiro squeezed his hand. "And he's half-American, so he's a little exotic," he said with a flourish. And a squeeze. "He's kind of short. It makes me want to cuddle him, like, all the time. And he has the nicest laugh." The reached the bus stop with a few minutes to spare, and Shichiro guided Taka to a bench to wait. They sat there, hands still intertwined, both pretty much grinning like idiots. "And he's smart too. He plays chess with me, which is just so cool."

"Another mysterious purple haired boy," Shichiro muttered with a wide grin on his face. The kiss left a warm spot on his cheek. "I'll have to challenge him to a duel to win your hand. Carve my initials into his shirt with my sword." He waves his wrist vaguely, in a lazy imitation of one of his fencing moves. "Still," he said thoughtfully. "I bet he'd like it if you kissed him. Um, very much. Yeah." This boy sure did make him nervous. Was that normal? Weren't boyfriends supposed to make you happy? Were they boyfriends? It was just the first date. Would there be more? Could there? What if he screwed up, though-

"Here's the bus," Shichiro said, pointing down the street. "I hope you're ready for the best arcade ever."

"I'll have to grow a mustache so I can twirl it and laugh menacingly," he chuckled. They took seats near the back, Shichi sliding close to his date and not bothering to let go of that hand. "Don't worry. Scout knows I would never hurt you. Ever." The bus pulled out into the street and towards the Cat Street stop in Northern Shibuya. The conversation seemed to come easy, the silences in between a little embarrassed, but companionable. Shichi told Takahiro a little more about his family: his mom the doctor, his older sister Tamiko and younger brother Kiyoshi.

"...And so I have him convinced that Gawain is just a giant chess piece figure and not a digimon. He holds still and Kiyoshi plays with him for hours!"

"It was okay. They're really nice, actually. Very, um. Relaxed. It was kind of weird seeing them just hang out with Petermon. I don't usually invite people home much. Not because of my family," he explained, looking out the window. "I got picked on for where we lived. A lot. We're on the smallest lot on Society Hill, or at least the kids tell me that." He grimaced a little, not wanting to dwell on the way other kids made him feel. Just this one holding his hand. "You could come visit, though. Mom and Dad wouldn't let me get away without meeting you eventually anyway, and I don't Tamiko and Kiyoshi would forgive me."

"They're pretty cool, as far as families go."

"I will. Kiyoshi might not though. Probably follow you around asking you to play. Mom and Dad are pretty discreet though. If you get him started Dad will talk your ear off about history and stuff- it's not that he doesn't have cool stories. I've just heard them all so. many. times!" He chuckles, squeezing Takahiro's hand affectionately. "Mom's the smartest person I know. She's a doctor at the hospital, I think I told you that already? They call her in all the time for difficult surgeries. Dad's got a lot of control over his schedule because he gets a lot of choice in when his classes are, so he's home a lot. It's nice, we're really close. His singing is like bad karaoke, but he's a great cook."

"Maybe you could come over and have dinner one night. Dad would love that. I was thinking we could take a walk after the arcade, and then, um..." his eyes twinkled. "Then it's a surprise and I'm not telling. Here, look. Our stop." He stood up and led Takahiro by the hand. He walked past the bustling arcade just down the street, the one most of the kids went to. Down another half a block he turned down an alleyway, heading for a door under a brightly-lit neon sign. It bore three symbols on it, with a simple message:

"There it is. Best Arcade Ever."

'Best Arcade Ever' was a cozy, long rectangular building with a change machine and a counter where you could buy various games and peripherals (hey! and snacks!) at the end near the door. To their left it stretched out into a dim, low-ceiling room packed on three walls and filled in the middle with arcade cabinets and games of various sizes. Shichiro stopped at the change machine, then turned back to his date. "Soda?" Takahiro replied requesting grape, so he stepped up to the counter and grabbed them each something. Grape soda for Takun, ginger ale for himself. Then he led him back along the row of games, searching... there.

He stopped at a cabinet with an odd, cupped handle attached to it by a wire. Shichiro slipped a few coins in and picked it up holding it like- a sword. A videogame lightgun shaped like a sword. "Duel Master, been playing it for years." He gestured to a second light-foil sitting on the console. "You should play!"