The Perfect Date

Chapter 5

Watching Pete interact with his guests of choice was eye-opening. Somehow, he was even more beautiful. She couldn't help but watch him as cooked and interacted with them.

Cooking was definitely a happy place for him. And he looked much more comfortable dealing with a bunch of children than he had been with her. That thought caused a tightening in her chest.

Maka looked away from him and frowned.

Why did that bother her? She had no claim on the man. He had just gone on a date with her to prove that humans weren't inferior to robots.

Something she could have told him if she had been willing to voice her opinions. Simba and Tadiwa knew it, though. They knew all about her love-hate relationship with the AI. She loved the science behind them but felt they were too unnatural for people to normalise them as they had.

Simba and Tadiwa would know that she didn't need any convincing on that front. And yet they had all but forced them to do this.

Why?

What was it about Pete that they thought he was worth her time?

"Hey, you okay? You seem distracted."

Maka turned around to see Pete standing beside her. She had been so stuck in her thoughts she hadn't even noticed that he was done cooking. She looked around her and saw that even Lily and her friends had gone to grab some food.

She wondered if they had said something that she didn't hear before they left her alone.

"You okay?" Pete asked again. "Lily said you were distracted, but I didn't think it would be this bad.

"I'm good, sorry just stuck in my thoughts," she replied. "You all done with the cooking?"

The question wasn't necessary. It was obvious that he was. But she couldn't think of anything else to say. But thankfully, he didn't call her out on it.

"Yes, they can do the rest themselves. The older ones will even help the younger with their tacos," he replied.

He was very relaxed about it all. Maybe he had a working system already in place?

"How often do you do this sort of thing? Hosting children?" she asked.

"Often enough," he replied, looking towards the children.

"And their parents?"

He didn't answer her immediately. Instead, he looked at her intently. From the look on his face, she guessed he was trying to figure something out.

What was he looking for? Although she was tempted to speak, she waited him out. If didn't want to tell her, Maka knew he would let her know. Pete didn't seem like the type to be easily pushed into things.

She knew she was the first date he had agreed to attend, even though Simba had been trying to encourage him to date for years. It was really just one of those right place, right time situations.

When he finally spoke, she was glad she had let him have his space.

"From what I know from your sister, you're one of the good ones. So I guess I can tell you."

Maka frowned and had tilted her head to the side. Could it be that serious?

"I help provide food and shelter for a lot of the poor families in the city. These kids have been here with their parents before. This time, however, most of their parents are missing. Their parents work in the plants. We are not sure if their parents are still alive."