Time to have FUN! [Charles]

"But she did and I did and then...!" Charles' eyes widened. Oh crap, Mae was was was, nonono! He quickly got up and dusted himself up. "I-I'm fine, don't worry! N-nothing happened!" But seriously, what the Bunny Girl said was bothering him... Could he really have fallen in love? He glanced at her, wondering if she was just trying to mess with him or maybe she really spoke the truth... Nah, it couldn't be that. Mae was just a friend. A best friend, yes, but not an love interest. He didn't even know if he would even be capable of such an emotion. It made no sense to him. The weird sensation though... if it couldn't have been love, then what could it have been?

Love...

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"M-Mae?" He sat on one of the seats near the middle of the swing, dusting off the seat to the right of him. "I-I thought you'd want to sit in the middle, yes, no, right?"

"Oh, come on, don't gimme that!" Mae chuckled, and rose up back to her feet. He seemed okay at least. That's a relief. "Something wrong, Charles? You're acting strangely..." Normally, this wouldn't be an odd occurence for the machine... however, he was... getting more... human, as it were. Was that a thing robots did go through? Mae had no idea... "Come on! The line is filling up, let's go!" Ayane pushed Mae and Charles backs with her own hands to get them moving. "Ahhh! Ayane, what are you-!" Mae exclaimed. "Shut up! We need to go, now! or we're gonna miss out on all the FUN!"

"Sure, I can sit there. Why not?" Mae sat down between her two friends. "Wohoo! This is gonna be fun!" Ayane stretched out her arms and legs in front of her. "You ready for this, Charles? Let's have some fun."

"S-strangely!? N-no!" He avoided eye contact and began scratching the back of his head. "W-we should go back into the line, yeah... Wait, whoa!" Did she have to push them like that, tho?

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M-Mae...  actually sat there! With his back unnaturally straightened and his eyes wide opened, he pushed himself several centimeters towards her seat... Only to frown and push himself away from her again... It just felt so... Awkward or something! He wanted to be closer to her, but was also conflicted at the same time! What would she have thought? F-friends should've kept a reasonable distance between themselves! He turned his head down at his feet and mumbled. "Y-yeah, fun..." Wait, what was this contraption even going to do to them?

"Is... there something you're not telling me?" Mae raised an eyebrow before stomping Ayane on the foot. "OW!" Then Mae returned her gaze to Charles, with loud protests coming from Ayane in the background. "Charles... You can tell me anything, and you know it. If there's anything bothering you, let me know, okay?" She looked at Charles for a good while. What was going on in that head of his? Why was he acting like this? Last time he had been... flustered was at the resturant when he couldn't eat the food. "Does it have something to do with... me?" It was just a hunch... but maybe...?

"Are you two ready?" And with that, the swing started to move slowly back and forth, increasing in velocity and height with every swing. At the peak of its highest swing, you could see the entirety of Penecia. "Whooohooo! Look at that view!" Mae tugged at Charles sleeve and pointed out towards the view... It was... glorious.

"I- I know that, you already told me that... I could tell you, anything..." But to admit that he liked her... He wasn't ready to even admit it to himself, so how could he tell her about it? "U-uhm... A-aren't you cold? I mean... like that?" He tilted his head to the side towards her bare legs, mostly really to just avoid the topic somehow. His eyes, however, stayed directed towards the sky, away from Mae, although he glanced at Mae for a moment as he tilted his head. Perhaps Mae would take this as an valid answer or something... Anything could happen... But her words, they told him she could tell, just like that friend of hers. Was he that obvious?

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"Huh?" The ride began with a clang, starting off slow and then slowly picking up pace. D-do the humans really enjoy these things? This wasn't really thrilling nor actually fun, but maybe it was just him. His train of thoughts was interrupted by a slight tug he felt at his sleeve. They were just at the peak of the swing. "The city?" He tried glancing but the swing fell backwards, pulling them away from the view. The next time it climbed, however, he was ready. As the swing rose, the city became visible to Charles again. "Huh... It really is!" He smiled at Mae as the swing brought them back down. Maybe this wasn't so bad, huh? Yeah, this was kinda fun, with Mae, that is! "Hey look!" He pointed at a flock of seagulls in the sky. "I haven't seen this many yet! There aren't many around the place where I live!" As if whatever had been puling him down until then melted away. He could even imagine the breeze Mae had to have been feeling. Ah... all of this was so... nice... Yeah. He could do this forever...

Slowly, but surely, Charles' hand slipped off the handle and towards Mae's, gently landing on top of it.

"G-geez, what's with that question? Of course it's a bit chilly. But I have to look good, you know? Being a girl... is rough sometimes." Mae's cheeks turned pink for once. She wasn't too comfortable with people pointing out her physical details. He wasn't being too obvious about it though, which is why Mae let it slide just this one time... "Anyway, don't stray from the subject. I know something's... off..." Wait... Did he...? Charles...? Oh geez... this was not something Mae had expected at all... Ayane must've noticed it right away. She's quick on picking up that sort of stuff. "Would you at least look at me when I'm talking to you Charles? Staring up in the sky doesn't exactly convince me that everything is fine..."

"Glad you like it!" Mae smiled at Charles. The view was just as breathtaking as it had been the first time she'd been there. Ayane seemed completely dumbstruck, as she stayed silent for the entire ride. Did... she pass out? Charles on the other hand... It was refreshing to see him this happy. He was like a kid fiding something new and exciting.

Mae felt Charles hand on top of her own. She gripped hold of it, and looked at Charles. "Y-you... Like me, Don't you?" Her cheeks had taken on the same pink shade as her hair. She honestly didn't mind at all. It was flattering honestly. She would not let go of Charles' hand for the rest of the ride....

"I-I see! Okay then!" So... it was important enough for girls to look good that they risked catching a cold? No, stop now, train of thought! Geez, what kinds of stupid things clogged his brain in this crucial situation? Of course girls liked to dress nice! He shook his head. "I wasn't straying! I-I was just worried about you!" Taking Mae's soft reprimand, he shily shifted his head towards her. His stare now was far from its usual intensity. Rather, it was almost timid, teary, even? How was that even possible? "S-sorry."

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It was only when Mae spoke that he noticed their hands had intertwined. His innocent smile washed away from his face. When did that happen? A-and she asked the question? How was he supposed to reply? She didn't seem to be against it or anything... In fact, she was holding his hand! "I-" No! He promised not to lie to her! Especially after last time! S-so, he had to say this now or he'd never be able to look her in the eye again! But why was it still so hard? His look, however, said it all. His eyes remained rooted at Mae's and she would've probably been able to read his feelings thoroughly just like that.

The city and the seagulls didn't matter anymore. The most beautiful site he could lay his eyes on now was Mae herself... With every single moment, it proned him further to tell the truth! Even if his demeanor said it all, he needed to get it out of his system! So... he..!

"I- I do!" Charles practically shouted in a sudden gasp. It didn't matter! He said it! He said it! T-that made it real now, right? "I-I like you!" The grip on her hand tightened. "A-ah! Sorry!"

"Aaaw, that's so sweet of you!" Mae smiled back at Charles. "There's no need to be worried though." Both Mae and Ayane giggled. "Girls are tougher than you think." It did get a little cold from time to time, but IT was the end of march and beginning of april Sure, the tow girls were still wearing leggings, so they wouldn't freeze their thighs off.

She had a a feeling that was the case. Charles had developed feelings for her. Did he already have these feelings for her back then...? Maybe... It was impossible to tell. She looked back into Charles eyes. The sun and the city below them was reflected perfectly in them. "Why are you sorry? So, you like me. I don't see a problem with that at all..." She gave Charles a tender smile. Her cheeks had taken a pink tone again, but her gaze was still fixated on the android's eyes. Now that she really got a good look at them, they really were quite beautiful... the way everything reflected off of them.

The remaining time spent on the ride felt like an eternity, the two teens looking at eachother the entire time, oblivious to anything that was occurinng around them. Charles loved Mae... Now... The only question that remained was... did she feel the same way about Charles? The ride did eventually stop, and Ayane's lopsided grin brought Mae back to reality. "You two done yet?" Ayane said in a half irritated - half satisfied tone. Hopefully Ayane did not take notice of the... "Special" exchange these two teens had held during this one ride....

Strangely enough... as Mae's pink eyes met his, he felt no such thing as fear or uncertainty. She seemed fine with this... But his heart was still filled with doubts... This was wrong, yet why did it feel so right? Why wasn't he straying his eyes away from hers? C-could this really be love? She was even wearing that pin he gave her! It fit so perfectly into her hair... "M-Mae, I... If you don't want this, it's fine with me." He said once they got over the swing and her warm hand left his cold one. The Bunny Girl was saying something, but he paid her no heed. He was probably a bother to Mae, though... Besides, this maybe wasn't even anything, as he wasn't even sure about his feelings... Maybe, what came out of his mouth had only been proned by the girl's actions and demands! First the Bunny Girl molested him mentally and then Mae noticed his weird behaviour, so it was possible, right? He was only speaking and thinking of her beautiful hair, eyes, her lovely smile and voice and her colorful demeanor because they nudged him into a territory that was unknown to him!

... Who was he kidding, he loved her and if she said that she didn't want him, then he would've been hurt, not relinquished... "S-so yeah... I can take it if you... We aren't even the same..." He wanted her answer to be 'Yes' so desperately it was unbearable!

"Oh, Charles..." Was he seriously? "Charles... I gotta be honest... I... I-I Do want this." Yeah... Mae had been thinking about it... He was a really sweet guy. And Mae was more than willing to give this an honest shot. The pinkette heard Ayane talking in the background, but at this point, Mae didn't pay her any mind. Her attention was completely focused on Charles. "Charles... That you and I are different doesn't really matter, does it? You've changed so much for the better over these last couple of weeks... And... I-I've grown to like the person you've become." If she had heard that Charles would fall in love with her a couple of weeks ago, she would've just laughed about it. But seeing how much he had changed over these last couple of weeks really affected how Mae felt about him. He wasn't just a robot anymore. Not to her anyway. He might not have noticed it himself, but he was turning more and more human as time went on.

"Y-you really mean that?" A HUGE wave of relief washed over Charles. He could finally smile a bit again, while inside, a small pile of confetti just blew up, covering his metaphorical innards into colorfulness! This rush, what was it? Who cares! Mae liked him! She said so herself! Charles felt new energy course through the very fiber of his being, tingling his senses and getting him worked up all of a sudden! The sensation was instantaneous and strange to him, but he clinged onto it with all of his might! There was only this small little speck of his soul that fought the newfound love, but it was easily overshadowed by the bellowing shockwave of emotions, all of them new to the android. "T-then this is real, right?" He grabbed her hand gently, letting it ring through his fingers with its warmth. He might've acted too directly but he couldn't control it... The pouted lower lip of his face shook rapidly... cutely, as he gazed at Mae.

"Y-Yes. I do..." Mae said shyly. Charles seemed overjoyed. Mae honestly felt this was the right thing to do. The two of them just sort of... clicked. How were things going to turn out? Was it really worth worrying about? No... Not really. Charles loved her. And she would make sure to love him back with every fiber of her being. This was very much real... And Mae was really glad Charles had taken this step on his own. "Thanks for telling me, Charles..." She felt really grateful for what Charles had done. Confessing wasn't easy, especially not for someone who's new to this whole "Loving" thing. "It was really brave of you..."

"Yes it is, Charles..." Mae let him grab her hand, and the two walked off. "Hey...! What about me!?" Ayane said, jokingly. Mae was glad the teen knew when to keep her distance when it really mattered. "So... Where do you want to go next?" Mae asked Charles, looking up at him, smiling brightly. This was the best day of her life!

"Y-you said I should tell you everything!" Charles said and smiled as Mae pulled him with herself. He really couldn't have been happier. Some fluffy sensation danced through his body as they walked. He wasn't sure where to go or what to do now that he was with Mae, though. Maybe just being together would've been enough to please him. He had no need to eat, drink, sleep... He wasn't too complicated then, right? Speaking of food!

Charles noticed a nearby cotton candy stand and pointed at it. "You wanna get some?" The color reminded him of Mae ~ Yogurth pink! "I'll pay for it." He said as they approached the stand. Weird, what kinds of food people ate. He thought to himself as he observed the pink fluff spin around. What was that even made of? It looked like some stringy thing... Would it be good for Mae if she ate it? How much did one serving weigh? Last time, she agreed to eat two servings of fried rice, but how much would that have been if translated into this pink stuff? Well, Mae should know how much she wanted, so it was fine. ~

"Well... I-I'm glad you did, Charles." Mae had never seen Charles this happy, or anyone else for that matter. It was really refreshing. Of course, she was really happy too. Mae wondered where all this would end up going for the two of them. "Geez... Would you guys stop ignoring me?" Ayane asked. The pinkette could hear it on her voice that she was just kidding around. She could get used to this. Sure, Charles was a little awkward, but that's nothing that spending time with him wouldn't fix. She had gotten him this far, right? "So... For how long?" Mae asked. This was something she was curious about. For how long had Charles actually held these feelings for her bottled up inside? Without a doubt they must've confused the android, seeing as it was a new thing for him.

"Oooh. Cotton Candy... I haven't had any of that in YEARS!" Mae looked at Charles with a delighted expression on her face. "Aaaw. You're so sweet! Thanks!" Mae looked at Ayane afterwards. "You want some too?" She hadn't completely forgotten about her friend. "Yes please. I'll pay for it myself, so don't worry Charles." She smiled at the two. "You know... You two are actually really cute together. I'm glad for you Mae." Those words of encouragement caused Mae to fidget in place. "Y-you think so, Ayane?"

"I think it... might've been from the start." Charles replied happily. He recalled how silly he acted on that day they met. At that time, he was unable to understand himself, though, so those feelings made him feel uneasy and scared so it was easier to just turn away and escape them rather than face them, but now he was sure he had felt the spark back then already. The spark which through time grew into something much bigger and brighter, shining almost like a star of its own. He really was clueless back in the old days ~

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He nodded at Ayane before turning to Mae. "You're welcome." He smiled. "Is it good? You seem excited." Charles asked Mae as he picked through his wallet and had Mae handle the ordering. He still couldn't get how they considered such a thing a kind of food, but eh, who was he to judge. He tilted his head at the Bunny Girl's statement. "C-cute!? Huh, Mae?" He noticed the fidgetting and turned to the girl. "Stop making her feel uneasy!" He frowned and commanded the Bunny Girl, totally misinterpreting the whole situation...