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There were many things Antauri would consider himself good at; meditation, chess, acting as an advisor, cooking. It was a wide array of skills that he was proud of, but there was one thing that had always baffled him in the utmost. Romance.

Aside from a few very short crushes while he was at the Veran monastery, all of which his mentors had discouraged, it wasn't something he had any experience with, or understanding of. Now here he was, trying to plan a date with Chiro.

“Think, what would Chiro enjoy…?" It was difficult, whenever he had an idea, he quickly dismissed it. He couldn't do anything risky, something that Chiro might not enjoy; a first date was about impressions after all, and a bad one would be ruinous.

“An arcade…? Chiro seems to enjoy those." No, that wouldn't work, it had to be something he would enjoy as well. Chiro was close enough to him to know that he didn't like video games, and was only trying to appease him; he doubted he'd appreciate it.

“A movie and dinner?" Urg, no. Far too traditional, especially after Otto and Mandarin had set such a high bar. He had to choose something that would be unique, but at the same time, not too forward. Going too fast would be dangerous. Not only might he scare off Chiro, but the other would doubtlessly be irritated as well.

He stepped in front of a mirror he had. Antauri honestly didn't use it very often, the monkey wasn't overly concerned with his appearance; thinking that as long as he looked presentable to the team, it didn't matter. “Think Antauri. What would be a good first date?" He stood there, considering it for a few moments, wracking his brain, but finding nothing. He sighed slightly.

“Perhaps meditation would help…" He muttered as he walked towards his normal mat. He chose not to bother with the candles this time, it was already close to bed anyway, and it would be a waste to light then snuff them in the space of only an hour.

Antauri sat down, assuming the familiar pose and automatically beginning his deep breathing exercises as he cleared his mind and entered into a state of trance. Gradually, the Power Primate elevated him into the air, and he levitated peacefully for an indeterminate amount of time before his eyes snapped open and he smiled. “That's it!"

A quick look at the clock told him that far more time then he had thought had passed, almost three hours. It looked like his sense of panic had interfered with his mental clock. He headed to bed immediately after a quick trip to the bathroom to clean himself, he had to get ready first thing tomorrow.

Chiro awoke with a start the next morning, and glanced around his room, not sure if he would be greeted with more flowers or a message. He didn't see anything out of place, so he relaxed and rose into a sitting position to stretch his arms wide. He'd wanted to get up early, knowing that Antauri himself was an early riser, and didn't want to keep him waiting. He glanced around again before he got dressed, still not sure how Mandarin had gotten in to leave him the flowers, and a little wary that one of the team might be lurking nearby. When he was satisfied that he was alone, he took a brief shower and dressed in his civilian clothes to go find Antauri.

He wouldn't find anyone in the hall waiting for him either, a welcome change over all. Mandarin might be a bit… too affectionate, or at the very least too eager. Hopefully for Chiro's sanity's sake, he'd get better about that as time went on. As it was, he didn't find Antauri until he got to the kitchen, where the black monkey was waiting with a small reading pad, looking up with a smile as Chiro came in. “Good morning Chiro, I take it you slept well?"

“Yeah! That massage Apollo and Gibson gave me really helped." He smiled a little sheepishly. Chiro was trying to stay relaxed, but he couldn't help but wonder if the relationship between himself and Antauri would change. He was the leader, but Antauri was his second in command and advisor, making him something of a mentor figure to Chiro. Would their lessons change because they were dating? What if they were meditating together and Antauri just floated over and kissed him? ...That didn't sound so bad, actually.

Antauri appeared momentarily confused by what Chiro had said, before recalling that Sprx had mentioned something about that last night when he had asked where the three had gone. “I am glad to hear that. And those two would be the best at it; Apollo has mentioned that being in such fierce physical training over the years, he and his fellow trainees learned how to apply it to each other to help with knots. And, well, Gibson is a doctor." He was mentally doing his best to stop himself from leaping to conclusions about them doing anything besides a massage, what with them touching Chiro so much.

He placed his pad down and watched Chiro walk over to the cabinets to start preparing his breakfast. “I would suggest against having too large a meal this morning, Chiro. I have prepared a lunch for us, for our date."

“Oh, thanks!" Chiro was oddly flattered by this, still not quite used to being treated so thoughtfully. The Monkey Team was always kind to him, but they were all fairly self-sufficient, and so was he. To be doted on in this manner was a strange but not unwelcome feeling. It still made him want to smile every time one of the team said 'Our date'. He combated the rising tide of warm and fuzzy feelings by eating a more simple meal of toast, glancing over at Antauri while the bread was heating up. “So… where are we going?"

Antauri's smile seemed to almost, twitch for a moment, if Chiro didn't know any better, before he started to speak. “I thought that having a picnic in the East Park would be rather nice. It is the best time of the year, we both enjoy being outdoors, and it is relatively peaceful while giving us a modicum of activities to do." Chiro couldn't, of course, hear Antauri's desperate mental pleas for this to be met with approval. “Unless, of course, you would prefer to have it somewhere else."

“That sounds great! It'll be nice to just do something quiet and relaxing with you." Chiro assured him, entirely honest. His date with Otto had been thrilling, and Mandarin's date had been a great adventure, but he liked the idea of just spending time with Antauri. Would they hold hands? It had been really nice when he and Otto had held hands, but this would be in public.

“Good. Now you have about an hour before we need to head out, would you like to do anything before that?" He asked, still nervous about not having scheduled the whole day with Chiro like Mandarin had.

Chiro knew he was being presented with a golden opportunity here, but he wasn't sure how to make use of it. Antauri was lowering his emotional walls and offering him a chance to be much less formal, and yet Chiro wasn't sure what they could actually do. More to the point he didn't know what Antauri would enjoy doing, and not simply do to please Chiro. He knew that Antauri liked to train and meditate, and while both of those things could be enjoyable, Chiro wanted to break new ground and reassure Antauri that they could didn't have to stick to old routines and could explore this new relationship. What could he do that wouldn't take too long, be peaceful enough for Antauri to enjoy, and yet let them spend time together…? Actually, he already needed some extra time to-

“Oh! I know!" Chiro looked triumphant as he lightly punched his open palm. “Could you help me sew one of my shirts? It got torn, but it's otherwise nice and I wanted to wear it on our date."

When Antauri agreed, Chiro decided to take a chance, and gingerly picked up his second in command to carry him back to his room. It felt strangely intimate, just holding him like this when Antauri had always been one of the most reliable, but formal of the Monkey Team. Would Antauri have let him hold him back before they started dating? Probably, considering that it turned out they all had feelings for him, but Chiro wouldn't have dared to ask. It would have been humiliating if Antauri had refused and told him that such desires were 'childish' or something. So it felt like a strange triumph to just carry Antauri like this, to the point that even when they arrived at his bedroom, Chiro was reluctant to release the cyborg monkey. Antauri was dexterous enough to remain in his arms even as Chiro gathered the garment, the needle and the thread, and wound up sitting in Chiro's lap as the two of them both worked to repair the small tears in the shirt.

Chiro mainly just wanted an activity that they could quietly enjoy together, but it was tenderer than he expected to hold Antauri like this. He didn't want to distract him too much, since they were both holding pins and concentrating, but his free hand wandered down and began to gently pet the cyborg's tail while they worked.

Antauri all but yelped as he was scooped up, not having been expecting it, even if Chiro hadn't been at all rough about it. Not that it hadn't happened before, but that was usually in combat situations, where he was already on his toes. It was strangely nice, Chiro's grip soft in spite of the strength he knew the boy possessed, and the warmth that emanated from the young man was comforting. Still, he didn't allow himself to relax more than slightly, and was more than able to help Chiro repair the shirt. “How do you tear this anyway?" He asked as they finished the first of the tears.

Before he could say anything else, Chiro had idly began to play with his tail, and he let out a small noise of amused surprise, “Oh." He chuckled slightly and glanced up at the leader of the team with a smirk, “You do realize I can feel that, right Chiro? You're essentially just stroking a limb of mine." ...Why did he have to say stroking? Now he had an image in his mind.

“I know." Chiro assured him, blushing slightly. “I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think you could feel it…" This was bordering on flirting now, but he had wanted to push the boundaries between them. He continued the gentle motion, since Antauri hadn't suggested he wanted it to stop. They had gotten the rips repaired sooner than he thought, and now he was at a loss for what else to do. Then again, why did they need to do anything else? Shifting Antauri in his lap, he began petting him like a cat, blushing a little more deeply at the quiet intimacy of them being alone together. “I ripped it trying to take a shortcut." He confessed, fearing the silence might be growing awkward for Antauri.

With the image pushed out of his mind as quickly as possible, Antauri continued to sew up the last of the rips, trying to not show how embarrassed he currently felt about how he was currently being petted. He was glad that he had finished by the time Chiro shifted and began to pet a bit more firmly, as he probably would have made a mistake otherwise. “I-I see… a shortcut. What for?" He asked, the second in command appreciating the break in the silence. It was moments like those when his thoughts would begin to crowd up on him, making it difficult not to make a motion or noise that might frighten Chiro off.

“I was just headed back from the city, and I was in a hurry. I didn't take the path, and wound up going through a bush that was a lot thornier than I had thought it was." He chuckled, more from nerves than actually amusement, and eyed the repaired shirt. Antauri and he had done pretty well, and it was much harder to see the stitches than he had feared. He set the shirt down and reached behind Antauri pet his way down the monkey's back, down the length of his tail, and gently grasped the metal tip. His breathing got a little heavier. Antauri wasn't the only one who'd noticed his use of the word 'Stroking'. “Hey, Antauri?"

When Antauri looked up at him, Chiro couldn't help but wonder if the monkey had somehow grown even cuter in the last few minutes. His large eyes seemed more innocent and curious than Chiro could remember, and it just make him even more eager to make the request. Chiro's eyes felt magnetically drawn to Antauri's mouth, wondering how his lips might feel. “...Could we kiss? I really wanna kiss you right now."

It was only for a second that Antauri was silent, but to both of them it felt far longer than that, almost as if minutes had passed for them to appreciate the gravity of what had just been said, both of them panicking internally for different reasons.

“I… I am very flattered Chiro, but I think the others would… not appreciate it. Not that I mean to discount your affections, only that I think it only fair for you to at least go on a date with each of us first before you, um…" It was rare for Antauri to falter when talking, and especially as much as this. In fact, it was probably the first time Chiro would have heard him use 'um'. Plain as day, Antauri was flustered. In fact, the second in command was fairly certain that if he did not have a solid reason to fall back on for his reason for not kissing Chiro, he would sound even less coherent.

Chiro's face fell in disappoint, but he nodded in agreement. “Yeah, you're probably right." Even as he agreed, however, he raised one hand up to gently place it on Antauri's cheek and tenderly traced his thumb across the primate's lips. “Gotta be fair to everyone…" Except that he wanted to kiss Antauri now when they were alone and it felt so intimate and right and he really, really wanted to kiss Antauri's cute face and… but no. Chiro knew that leaders did not always get what they wanted, and he wouldn't be a good leader or a good boyfriend if he was unfair to his team/boyfriends. So instead he lifted Antauri up and gave him a small kiss on his forehead, feeling slightly better for having done that small token of affection, and set Antauri beside him before the atmosphere got even thicker. “Well, the shirt is all fixed. Are you ready to go?"

It was at this particular moment in time that Antauri was glad that the dark color of his fur easily hid the skin on his face. Otherwise, Chiro might have noticed how brightly it was flushed. Not that he was hiding how awkward this was making him feel, but he didn't exactly desire another method by which to make himself look the fool. Regardless, it was after a deep, quiet breath that Antauri nodded and got off the bed, careful not to stumble in the slight daze he was in, his forehead still feeling a slight tingle even though he knew that Chiro had done such things before. The context was different of course, which was why his body was reacting as such, but the fact didn't provide much help at the moment. “I will go grab the basket from the kitchen. You can meet me down at the entrance of the robot." Normally, he would have asked Chiro to help him with the basket, if only due to its bulk compared to his size. But he was silently hoping for at least a minute by himself to regain his composure.

Chiro nodded, not aware how much Antauri had been discombobulated, because he himself was a little hazy from the moment they had shared. “Alright, see you there." He took several deep breaths once Antauri had departed, trying to wake himself back up and not think about kissing Antauri, or how nice he'd felt in his arms, or how soft his lips had felt… He gave his face a firm slap and that seemed to help a little bit. He tried a calming exercise, but that just reminded him of Antauri teaching it to him and so that didn't help get his mind off of his current date at all. So he was still a little lost when he bumped into the yellow monkey in the hallway. “Oof! Oh, sorry Apollo."

Said yellow monkey nearly stumbled himself, having not been expecting Chiro to collide with him, having spotted the boy several feet before hand and figuring he wouldn't suddenly turn into him. “Geeze Chiro, you okay?" He said, shaking his head a bit. It was still weird sometimes to Chiro that the yellow monkey, who was both the strongest of the team in pure force, and the one who had gotten him into proper shape when he joined the team, was probably the only one on the team, even including him, whose voice was at all feminine; to the point where he had to ask Otto during his first day, just to make sure. Which was smart of him, considering how often making fun of it earned Sparx a bruise of some kind. “You just wake up from a nap or something?" He asked, noting how dazed he looked.

“No, no, I was just… hanging out with Antauri." He explained weakly, hoping Apollo wouldn't connect the dots. They hadn't kissed because it wouldn't have been fair to the others, but even the near miss had Chiro feeling guilty. Which was silly, he knew, and Apollo would get a chance for a quiet moment with him just as easily as the others, but he couldn't help the nagging thought that he'd committed some kind of sin. He also wasn't sure if he could hold out for three more days before kissing someone. “It got a little… tense." He confessed at last, his sheepish smile assuring the boisterous bruiser that it wasn't the bad kind of tension.

Apollo was about to ask why he was acting like he was, not exactly suspicious per say, he knew Chiro would be far more out of sorts if anything serious had happened between the two of them, but curious enough that Chiro's answer only made him want to ask for more information. “Tense, huh? In what way?" Apollo trusted Antauri with most things, but ever since they had all started dating Chiro, and Apollo actually bothered watching for the signs, it was pretty clear the black monkey had a serious crush, which Apollo wasn't sure the normally chaste second in command was prepared to handle.

“...Wealmostkissed." Chiro finally blurted out in a rush, embarrassed and yet excited at the same time. A part of him was worried about what Antauri would say if he knew that Chiro was telling the first person he saw about what they had nearly done together, but Chiro wanted Apollo's input on what had happened. “But we stopped because we realized it wouldn't be fair to the rest of you, you know because I've only been on three dates so far. And now I kinda can't stop thinking about kissing." The human abruptly averted his eyes when he realized he was staring at Apollo's lips now.

The fighter's mouth almost seemed to gape for a short moment, before he cleared his throat, “Uh… okay, wow." He ignored the fact that Chiro was staring at his face, and tried to think of some way to help. “I mean… how did you deal with it when you were first dating Jinmay? I know you two were going out for a little while before you tried kissing for more than a quick peck." Apollo himself wasn't quite sure if he had any advice of his own. Like, yeah he thought about it some of the time… but he wasn't a hormonal teenager.

“I didn't feel like I wanted to kiss her as much." Chiro offered somewhat lamely. It was hard for him to articulate exactly why he hadn't wanted to kiss Jinmay as much as he wanted to kiss his team members. “I was usually just happy when we were just hugging or holding hands or just being together. When I'm alone with you guys, I get way stronger urges." After a couple more moments of blankly staring at Apollo, he blurted out. “I really wanna do 'stuff' with you guys."

Due to the lighter fur color, the blush Apollo now had was slightly visible, although he quickly did his best to move on. “Okay, you don't need to be so loud." He smiled awkwardly, “I mean… it's me, Sparx and Gibson who are left. I'll try and talk to them about, maybe seeing if you don't need to wait another 3 days before you can do more than hug us? Until then, uh… well your door has a lock, right?"

The human leader of the Hyper Force wondered if he could actually die of embarrassment. “Yep!" He squeaked out, wondering if he could actually flee from this conversation with the shredded remnants of his dignity intact. The problem was not that he didn't want to hear more, the problem was that he far more intrigued than he should be at what Apollo was proposing. “That… that would be great, actually. Just so long as you're all happy with whatever you guys decide on!" He glanced aside, wondering if Antauri was waiting on him, and if he would come looking for him. It would be just the perfect cherry on the situation if he stumbled into the middle of this conversation. “Well, I gotta get going!"

Apollo quickly called after Chiro to enjoy his date with Antauri, but the teen was already around the corner before he could finish his sentence.

As Chiro had been trying not to obsess too much about kissing and… more, Antauri had also encountered a teammate as he prepared for the picnic. Although he had managed to not look like a mess by the time he had started to check the basket to ensure that everything was inside that they would need, Mandarin walked into the kitchen. Not that he announced himself or the like. If it wasn't for the fact that Antauri could sense his teammates on a basic level, he wouldn't attribute the slight hesitation of the monkey who paused when seeing him to the former leader. Indeed, when he looked up and back from the basket, Mandarin didn't look angry as he might have expected him to be in this situation, just slightly annoyed and more so nervous. Apparently, he hadn't been expecting to see Antauri in here.

Mandarin wanted to say “Have a good time" and be done with it, but that would seem like he was telling Antauri to leave immediately, and he wasn't trying to be rude. And he was trying very hard not to be jealous, focusing instead on the fact that he'd left a good impression on Chiro than feel threatened by the idea that other people would have fun with him. As he pondered his options, he noticed that Antauri looked nervous, and misattributed it to his presence alone. Fearing that any further silence would escalate the awkwardness, he greeted him. “Hello, Antauri… Do you need anything? I was going to start making lunch."

“Oh. No, but thank you for the offer Mandarin. I was about to leave, I just needed to ensure that everything that I would need is in here." Although the situation was a bit more awkward than usual, dealing with Mandarin was something Antauri was familiar with. The ex-leader was business first, and it showed in conversation, as he rarely beat around the bush; Antauri returned the favor usually. The fact that Mandarin didn't seem angry or the like with him, in spite of how he had been acting earlier in the week about Chiro, did actually make the black monkey happy, and more willing to talk a bit. “I gathered the impression that Chiro greatly enjoyed your date yesterday. Mine is not quite as… impressive in scale as yours I'm afraid, but I hope he enjoys the change in pace." Although Mandarin's ego was large, he didn't take most compliments that well, finding most of them to be empty praise to appease him when someone wanted something, not helped by Sparx's habit of doing just that. As such, Antauri was careful to be somewhat subtle with his.

The orange Monkey was indeed unimpressed by attempts at flattery, but he saw Antauri's compliment as a peace offering, which he accepted. “You have always thrived in serenity, Antauri. Chiro learned well from your teachings. I do no doubt he will… enjoy your company." The last sentence sounded a bit forced, but Mandarin was sincerely trying to return the compliment. But he couldn't help but remember that he had accused Antauri of cradle-robbing not long ago, and abusing his position as Chiro's mentor to gain his trust unfairly. He kept telling himself that Antauri was not that type of person, and- Wait, was the kitchen getting warmer? Why did he feel flushed all of a sudden? He sniffed the air, and realized he was reacting to an elevated dosage of pheromones. He narrowed his eyes and sniffed more carefully, and picked up traces of Chiro's scent, and Antauri's lingering excitement. “...Antauri, what have you been up to this morning?"

“Thank you, Mandarin." The black monkey had nodded with a polite smile and turned back to the basket, and although good, their hearing wasn't to the point where they could hear someone lightly sniff the air from across the room. They were monkeys, not dogs. As such, he was somewhat surprised by Mandarin's question, and froze a moment. Not long, but enough that he knew Mandarin would have noticed. He had one of either two options, he could lie, hoping that Mandarin was being paranoid, and knowing that he was one of the few people in existence that Mandarin both knew closely and could lie to his face. On the other hand, there was a good chance that Mandarin had noticed something amiss, or he would find out later for certain. It wasn't that he was afraid of the orange monkey, more that he didn't want this tenuous peace he had to be shattered. Here was hoping the truth wouldn't lead to that. “Chiro asked me to repair his shirt for him, and he sat with me as I did. He considered it an early start to our date." He omitted the almost kiss, thinking that including such a detail would only hurt the situation.

“Indeed?" Mandarin inquired, folding his hands behind his back and walking closer, until he was within a yard of the second-in-command, and began to sniff the air more obviously. “Because the scent of your pheromones suggests that you found this activity quite stimulating." Mandarin wanted to call him out on whatever duplicitous activity he'd done, but he wasn't quite sure what he would be accusing him of; the scent said that Antauri had been very excited, but there were no other signs that they had done 'things' together. The orange Monkey frowned suspiciously at Antauri, not willing to actually suggest he'd done something dishonorable, but not willing to let it pass that easily.

After a moment of contemplation, Antauri turned to Mandarin with a rather open smile, one he didn't wear much around the other. “I did. Yes. Chiro began stroking my tail for a short time while I was sewing, unaware of the sensitivity of the area. I attempted to maintain composure, but gently told him to stop after a few moments and informed him of the significance of the act. So, yes, your suspicions were indeed partially correct, and I had intended to not disclose these details with you, as you are likely considering berating me for, as I did not wish to have an unpleasant encounter with you over an act I consider to be neither sexual, nor intended on mine or Chiro's parts." It was rare that Antauri said so much at one time, and even rarer for him to be so blunt when doing so, but when he did, it was always an interesting situation. He had, of course, not mentioned the almost kiss, but that was less out of a desire to keep things between him and Mandarin peaceful and more… he still wasn't quite sure how he could talk about the situation without looking like a fool.

Mandarin's ruby red eyes had begun to glow at the first glimpse of Antauri's smile, thinking that his team-mate was mocking him, and only after several moments did he start to see the expression as an attempt to placate him. After Antauri finished his explanation, Mandarin closed his eyes and hid their glow, inhaling deeply before he spoke again. “...I apologize for assuming the worst. I should have realized you would never… do something." He opened his eyes, but would not meet Antauri's gaze. “...I am well aware how unintentionally stimulating he can be."

Antauri wasn't exactly sure what Mandarin was referring to, but he chuckled slightly. “Well, I choose to look at it this way. I have waited… I would say approximately a year and two months, for Chiro, and I imagine you would say roughly the same. I can wait another three days before I find out how, 'intentionally stimulating', he can be." He patted Mandarin on the shoulder as he grabbed the basket with his tail, “Although I can also tell you this. I am not entirely sure Chiro feels the same way. Be glad I have chosen a public location for this picnic."

Mandarin felt his jealousy temporarily eclipsed by the reminder that the object of his affection was a hormonal teenager whose libido was probably getting stronger by the day. His wide-eyed expression of realization remained several minutes after Antauri had departed.

When Antauri arrived at the entrance to the Super Robot, Chiro joined him shortly afterwards, still looking flushed and embarrassed, but pleased to see him. “Ready to go?" He asked, his tone slightly too eager due to his desire to escape another awkward encounter.