Work Text:
Lin Ling had planned the entire day down to the minute.
He spent a few days researching places Xiao Yueqing might like, cross-checking crowd levels, calculating travel time between locations, even looking up whether any cafés offered the dessert he knew she liked just to ensure it was a good date.
With his lengthy itinerary in mind, Lin Lig went to pick Xiao Yueqing up, confident he would at least make the day at least a little bit enjoyable for her.
Plan One was a quiet café he had found a stone's throw away from the Hero Tower.
It specialized in dark chocolate drinks and cakes where he could have custom messages written on the dessert. Lin Ling had thought it was perfect to write something sweet for her as a surprise after they ordered.
Except when they arrived, the shutters were halfway down, and the shop had a sign which stated they were closed for emergency plumbing repairs.
"They didn't update their website..." He had checked it just this morning, too.
If Xiao Yueqing noticed Lin Ling's slightly disappointed face, she didn't say anything.
"It's fine! I had a backup." He murmured, straightening himself. "Shall we go?"
Plan Two was a small market set up in a park. Xiao Yueqing had been raving about this one item which she was just shy of purchasing in another district, and Lin Ling just happened to chance upon it being sold at this makeshift market. He had planned to get it for her when they came down together today.
But the moment they arrived, dark clouds rolled in overhead, and rain began pouring down out of nowhere.
Within minutes, the vendors were scrambling to cover their stalls, and several people began packing up entirely. Lin Ling tried searching for that one vendor amidst the crowd to no avail.
"... Maybe not this one either."
The amusement park had been Plan Three. Lin Ling was fairly confident about this one considering it was a large franchise, and wasn't affected by bad weather because of how far it was from the other two locations prone to wet weather these few days. He had checked the maintenance schedule right before going just to make sure everything was running as well.
Xiao Yueqing glanced around the park as the distant sound of rollercoasters rattled through the air. Lin Ling gently took her hand as he guided her along- he had marked down the rides in order of efficiency so they wouldn't waste time walking across the park unnecessarily, and if he wasn't wrong, the first ride was...
"..." His face fell. Why was there a whole crowd of policemen here?? He stuck around just to make sure everything was alright, though it just seemed like a small case. Someone had apparently been robbed while on the ride, and it was suspended while the police searched the individuals.
Lin Ling deflated slightly. "... I'm starting to think I offended Lucky Cyan..." he admitted.
"I think so, too. Isn't your luck a little too poor today?" Xiao Yueqing remarked.
What should he do? Should he just come back another day? He could carry on with the date, but if his next plan was destined to fail again...
"Why don't I bring us to the next place?" Xiao Yueqing suddenly suggested.
"You... you will?" Lin Ling turned towards her with hope. He had been worried she would get upset, but she seemed to be doing just fine today.
"Of course. Did you forget I have this?" She rummaged in her bag and took out her portal gun. His lips parted in surprise as she took his hand, bringing him through the portal to a new ride in the huge amusement park.
The ferris wheel?
Lin Ling did think about it, but he hadn't actually planned to go on it.
It was... a bit tame. Considering that Xiao Yueqing was a travel vlogger, her adventures would usually have heated moments where she confronted a few small villains, and this felt as though it wouldn't do her justice.
Still, the line was practically empty, so they climbed into the small carriage together as the operator shut the door. The wheel began moving slowly, lifting them higher above.
Below them, the colourful rides and winding pathways stretched out like a toy city. Lin Ling could originally hear the noise from the other rides, of laughs and collective shrieks from the bumper cars on the ground or the rollercoaster occasionally rushing by, but all of it faded out as they went higher.
Xiao Yueqing leaned slightly forward, resting her arms against the railing as she looked out. The wind brushed gently against her hair, lifting a few loose strands that caught the soft glow of the city lights. Before them, the skyline stretched endlessly in the distance.
"It's quite nice up here." She murmured.
Lin Ling found himself staring at her instead of the view. Under the soft lighting, Xiao Yueqing looked even more beautiful than usual, and he was simply enraptured.
"... How long are you going to keep peeping?" She asked, turning around with an unimpressed expression.
Lin Ling jolted once caught and turned away. "Sorry."
"I was joking," Xiao Yueqing poked him. "But you look a lot better now."
Lin Ling huffed softly. "I guess running around trying to salvage my plans was more stressful than I thought," his grip tightened subconsciously on his arm. "I really wanted today to go well. It's our first date, after all."
"What do you think usually happens on the first date?"
"I'm not so sure." he admitted candidly. "Maybe we could have shared some sort of dessert, or went somewhere you liked... I definitely wanted you to be happy, though it didn't seem to have worked."
"I am pretty happy," Xiao Yueqing refuted. Lin Ling looked up at her, surprised. Was she just comforting him? She wasn't that kind of person though. "It's the first time someone put in this much effort for me."
"But we didn't get to go anywhere today," Lin Ling was a bit confused, trying to measure this against what he thought a 'proper' date should be. "As compared to your first date with Nice..."
"Those were actually all PR stunts."
"Ah?"
"You didn't think it was real, did you...?" She tilted her head slightly. "It was all a script written by the marketing team back then. Not only were the places we went to booked earlier in advance, even the audience were fake too."
A script?
It made sense, considering her whole relationship with Nice was forged and packaged nicely for the public. But Lin Ling wasn't aware of their first date being fake. Maybe the project wasn't handed to him at that time because he was still in his first year of internship at the company.
"The only thing that was somewhat real was that I like travelling," Xiao Yueqing continued. "We could go somewhere together next time."
Next time? There was a next time...? Something warm began to ease the anxiety he was previously holding onto. Lin Ling nodded, finally breaking into a genuine smile. "Okay."
As night fell and they returned to the hero tower, the bright noise of the amusement park faded into a distant hum, replaced by the quiet atmosphere of the building. Lin Ling had just gotten out of the lift to his floor when he felt something soft brush against his cheek. Startled, he turned to see Xiao Yueqing leaning close with a satisfied smile on her face.
Did she just...?!
"I had fun today," she murmured, "I'll get going now. Good night, Lin Ling."
She stepped away, already turning slightly towards her portal.
"Wait!" Lin Ling reached out to stop her. Did she have to leave this soon? He knew she preferred to sleep at her own place, but the whiplash of spending time alone at the Hero Tower always hit him hard. He wanted to be able to be by her side, even if they weren't doing anything.
"What is it?" She seemed surprised at his reaction.
Lin Ling leaned in to hug her.
"... I had fun too," he replied. He inched his face forward slightly bit by bit, a little shy, and mustered some courage to kiss her back on the cheek. "Good night."