Melting the Devil

The Date

A/N: Ugh, I feel so tired just thinking about tomorrow. It's Monday and we have work. WE CAN DO THIS EVERYONE! SU SU NA!!!!

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Cantaloupe had not always been much of a planner.

He was a master procrastinator his whole academic career, only succumbing to deadlines when it was almost too late, but he quickly learned that that kind of behavior did not fly with a man such as Tin Medthanan. In many ways, Cantaloupe had to learn to become the best version of himself because of Tin. At first, it started out as the need to impress his boss, to prove that he wasn't the wrong choice, and, at the very least, to make sure he stayed employed. If Cantaloupe-the-fresh-grad had seen Cantaloupe now, planning out a date like it was a war plan, he would be appalled at best and maybe horrified at worst.

But he was used to scheduling Tin's days, and this pretty much felt exactly like that, except suddenly Cantaloupe felt like he was back in his first year on the job with the self-inflicted pressure to impress Tin. Of course, there was nothing that Tin's said or done to him in recent memory that made him think that he needed to step up his game (in fact, Tin seemed to be perfectly happy with whatever he gave him) but honestly, he still hadn't quite wrapped his head around the fact that Tin Medthanan wanted to be with him. The last three days had been straight out of Cantaloupe's dreams—they'd gotten a hold of themselves after that first day and learned how to refrain from being so hopelessly obvious in the office, but Tin had still been so sweet, shooting him heart-stopping smiles and leaving lingering touches when he could—but frankly, he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. He figured he wasn't going to take his chances and plan a subpar outing just because Tin Medthanan seemed to be interested in him. Certainly not when Tin Medthanan could leave him for literally anyone he wanted on the face of this earth.

He just... really wants to make this the most perfect date, especially since it's their first real date and not just a few stolen office hours at a fancy restaurant. Cantaloupe doesn't really have much experience on the dating front, other than a few meaningless flings in college and a couple one night stands that weren't stellar, so it actually scares him a little bit, how big his feelings are, especially considering how long it's been since said feelings manifested. There's a certain part of him that's afraid that he feels much more strongly than Tin does, which is fine, maybe even inevitable—Cantaloupe still doesn't quite understand what possessed Tin to kiss him that day, but definitely he's not going to be the one to complain. 

In any case, he certainly wasn't going to start slacking now. He has four years of insider info on Tin to come up with something that's fun and new and exciting for him that he'll also enjoy. Cantaloupe knew Tin was a creature of habit, but seeing as Tin's haCan were—let's face it—lightyears outside of Cantaloupe's budget, he had to make do with what he had. That's when he realized that getting to plan this date was probably a good chance to let Tin into his world, much like Cantaloupe had experienced stepping into The Magnifico for the first time.

He starts listing date ideas when he comes home that day, slightly disheveled from how Tin had pulled him into his house briefly to kiss him soundly before letting him go, and then plans like a fiend—down to looking up bus schedules and consulting his own spreadsheets—to figure out what they should do. He wants to do something that would be new to Tin but not so unfamiliar that he gets uncomfortable. He scrolls through his camera roll to try to find restaurants that he's enjoyed in the area, until he stops at the one that Rei had introduced to him two years ago. He's a little nervous about Tin's reaction because he's pretty sure Tin's never tried that kind of cuisine before, but he's pretty sure he's going to like it. Hopefully. 

(He makes reservations at two other nearby spots, just in case.)

And then there was... after dinner. Cantaloupe didn't want to be presumptuous about how their date would end, but he wanted to at least give Tin a subtle hint that he would be okay with doing... other things with Tin, if he wanted. He decides making dessert and leaving it at Tin's house for them to come back to will work because even if their night doesn't end up that way, they can still enjoy some sweet treats before Cantaloupe bids Tin good night. It also gives Cantaloupe the opportunity to surprise Tin with his latest experiment that he'd been working on since Thursday, fueled by Tin's sudden admission to having a sweet tooth.