I Promise You'll Get Better

Fifteen

Shellington couldn't help but gasp slightly as Dashi entered the kitchen, looking a little bashful. He had done his best by dressing in a relatively new tuxedo, with a rose in his pocket and Dashi's present hidden behind his back. But Dashi—the most beautiful girl in the world—had really outdone herself this time.

She was in a deep pink, knee-length dress, cinched in at the waist with a diamante belt. Her fringe was pinned back with her own pink rose that was dusted with glitter. She walked neatly in light pink heels; her hands, decorated in silver bangles, were clasped behind her. Blushing slightly, she said shyly, "Hey, Shel. You wanted me to meet you here?"

"Yes." Shellington smiled, gently setting the present down behind him and pulling her in for a hug. "How have you been?"

"We saw each other a couple of hours ago, Shelly."

"Anything could've changed."

"I've been fine." Dashi shifted a little. "It's been strange without Tweak, but... I'm coping."

She cocked her head cheekily. "So tell me. Are we breaking out in another Gup and crashing into rocks again? That was enjoyable until the crashing part. Falling unconscious was only a minor problem, but I guess we'll work that out when we come to it."

Shellington laughed. "No, I don't think we could do that again, unless you want the Octopod's entire fleet of Gups to be destroyed."

"That would be a lot of work for Tweak," Dashi said, eyes twinkling. Shellington paused for a moment, watching her carefully, but was relieved to see there were no tears.

"And we'd look very strange, taking a Gup out for a drive in fancy clothes," she added, tweaking Shellington's rose. "You look handsome tonight, Shelly."

"You look gorgeous too, Dashi."

They kissed briefly. Dashi started, as if she'd remembered something, and revealed a wrapped present from behind her back. "I got this for you. Via Danielle. But this is definitely from me. Especially the inside part."

Shellington carefully unwrapped it. Inside was a deep blue leather book, not that large, but big enough to hold lots of photos. On the cover were two hearts, etched in gold and silver.

The pages were full of photos of Dashi and Shellington. Starting from their first days as Octonauts, right up to just a few weeks ago, memories glowed on every page, captioned in Dashi's neat, bubblegum-pink handwriting. Shellington found tears in his eyes as he closed it slowly and squeezed his girlfriend's waist.

"Dashi, how long did it take you..."

"That doesn't matter." Dashi kissed his cheek. "I'm glad you like it."

"I... um... I got this for you," Shellington said, handing Dashi his package. Dashi weighed it with her hands, a small frown creasing her forehead. She unwrapped it, and then gasped.

"Shel, I can't accept this!"

"You can," Shellington insisted. "It's going to be a while before your camera's fixed, so..."

"Shelly, you're an absolute angel." Dashi cradled the sleek black camera in her arms, suddenly looking like a little girl. "This is almost like my first proper professional camera, the one I got when I was a teenager... Shel, I have to repay you..."

"Repay me by having this date tonight and being your perfect self," Shellington said, his lips brushing her forehead.

"What are we doing tonight?" Dashi enquired, delicately hooking the camera around her neck and almost unconsciously adjusting the lens. "I don't think I'm feeling up to anything too exhilarating..."