This story was intended to be smut, but it turned itself into a cute little romance story. There's no sex here, but don't worry - I'll make sure to get to the good stuff asap. To make up for it, I wrote a quick smut story - go check out Closing TIme!

“Hi, I have a reservation for seven thirty."

“Name?"

“It should be under Henderson".

“And will someone be joining you this evening?"

“They should be here soon"

“Lovely," said the woman in a delicate voice, “Right this way."

Elliot followed her through the convolutions of the restaurant, winding past tables and around wine racks. Finally, they arrived at a circular table in the corner. Candles held in intricate glass containers simpered, the tongues of flame casting a romantic haze over the tablecloth. As the woman set down two bundles of cutlery beside orderly placed menus, the human sat down in a chair adjacent to the window. Outside, the sun was flirting with the horizon, slowly becoming darker with the night.

“Your server should be with you in just a minute."

Elliot thanked the woman, anxiously pulling out his phone as she turned away.

With a keen eye, Simon noticed an emptying glass to his left. He turned, doing his best to not impose, and began pouring water into the thirsty goblet. He started to leave, but felt a tap on his shoulder. Sarah stood next to him, quickly whispering something under the music before continuing on her way. Simon's mind lagged behind her speech, but after some time a few words clicked into place. Luckily, all he needed to understand her intention was the word “fourteen" - The tall fruit bat, dapper in his vibrantly black suit, looked to the dejected corner table and saw a human sitting at it who hadn't been there moments before. He already had a nearly full pitcher, so he began to head over to the lonesome man.

“Welcome to Buco di Cibo; I'm Simon, and I'll be your server this evening."

The man politely tucked his phone away, looking up with slight surprise in his eyes.

“Can I get you started with anything to drink?"

The intonation of the bat's voice was rehearsed in its outgoingness, yet somehow relaxing in its generic familiarity. The human half-nodded shyly, replying.

“Water is fine for now, thank you."

Simon smiled. This time, he wasn't making a show of the facial expression. Something about the handsome little human made him feel giddy. He filled the man's cup, briefly hypnotized by the ice cubes rolling under the water's surface, skipping over the pitcher's edge into the smaller vessel.

“I'll give you some time to look over the menu. If you need anything, feel free to flag me down."

Elliot thanked him, looking back to his phone immediately after the bat left. A litany of messages had been sent to the deer, but not a single one had been replied to. They had agreed on the time and meeting place days prior, but he was conveniently unable to respond now that he was well over ten minutes late. He tried calling again, but nobody picked up. Defeated, Elliot put his phone back into his pocket, slumping his back over top of his menu.

“Fourteen's quite the looker, isn't he?" Sarah's voice was tired and heavy.

The sun was nearly gone, the last few lazy rays catching on the plumes of cigarette smoke emanating from the rat's mouth. Simon stood several feet away from Sarah. She was a good friend, but he didn't want the stench of tobacco clinging to his voluminous fur. Although the bat didn't smoke, he would on occasion come chat with the rodent while she billowed enough for the both of them.

“You're certainly not wrong. Do you think he's on a date?"

The rat chuckled lightly.

“I'm pretty sure, but even if he wasn't it's not like you'd do anything."

“Hey, I might!"

Sarah's grin screamed disbelief even more than her words.

“Just like all those other times you asked out cuties, right?"

Simon looked at the ground as he stewed. The two were silent for a moment, only the bustling of the restaurant behind them breaking the gossamer quiet of the evening.

“Something's different about him," he whispered. He looked up at Sarah, his wide eyes gleaming.

“How?"

“There's just… Something."

A soft breeze parted his fur, wanton streams of air washing the day away. Sarah took a deep breath through her cigarette.

“They aren't going to show up," The rat rumbled, exhaling smoke.

“What?"

“The human's date. He's been here for what, fifteen minutes now? He's checked his phone every thirty seconds, and still - nobody's here. Lucky for you, though."

The bat locked eyes with his friend, caught on her every word. Her observations were correct, but the connections between them felt thin. Seeing Simon's doubt, the rat smiled mischievously.

“Prove me wrong, bud."

Sarah pressed her cigarette butt into the ashtray, releasing it before walking back into the restaurant. A moment later, Simon followed.

Elliot had put his phone away, now sitting listlessly in his chair. What kind of asshole doesn't even tell you they won't show up? His fuming was interrupted, seeing his server begin to head towards his table. Surely he wouldn't want to order anything, not with his date absent. Elliot could feel social stress creeping along his spine as the impending bat drew closer. What could he say without melting in awkward embarrassment? Unfortunately, time was fleeting, and he wasn't able to preempt his words.

“Do you want to start with an appetizer, or are you still waiting on someone?"

Despite the fact he was obviously well intentioned, the server's words felt crass and accusatory to Elliot. He quieted his malaise, doing his best to say something cogent.

“To be honest, I'm not sure if someone is showing up."

The bat's face was scrunched ever so slightly. Clearly, he was intrigued, but didn't want to pry. Elliot couldn't place why, but he felt like this stranger was perfect to vent to. Something about his kind eyes, he supposed.

“First date. Internet. Bad decision."

The human's voice strained as he spoke, holding back a confused mix of tears and anger with every stumbled syllable.

“He's a fucking asshole."

Elliot felt like an idiot. He was struggling to regain his composure, desperate to not have a childlike meltdown in this restaurant. In words, it sounded so insubstantial: his date hadn't shown up. The feeling of it, however, was something else entirely. This was supposed to be his relief from a hard week of work, an outing to a lovely place with good food, a dream of someone who might really care about him - love him, even.

“I'm sorry, It's just a lot to go through. More than you'd think."

He stopped for a few moments, clenching his fist beneath the tablecloth.

“More than I thought."

The bat was moved by the emotional tension. Despite his sympathy, however, he was secretly alight with excitement. A single syllable, almost meaningless on it's own, carried a resounding weight in Simon's chest.

He.

The date was a he.

“I'm so sorry."

Simon didn't know what to say. His job was to talk to people, and he wasn't easily flustered, but he also certainly wasn't allowed to provide comfort at the level the human clearly needed. Not while he was working, anyway.

“Feel-", he stuttered, “Feel free to stay as long as you need. I'm sure things will look up."

Simon smiled in a way that signalled his somber sympathy, quickly turning away and rushing into the kitchen. His heart was racing, a plan beginning to form in his head. He threw himself out the worn fire door into the alley behind his place of employment. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his phone and let his thumbs dance over the dim screen. Holding the device to his ear, he nervously smiled.

“Thank you so much!" Simon threw his arms around the apathetic dog, giving him a quick squeeze. Immediately back to his feet, He turned and began bolting through the kitchen towards the dining room.

Two minutes earlier, The bat had locked himself in a bathroom stall with his street clothes. He quickly took off his work outfit, neatly folding it before placing the clothing in a flat-bottom fabric bag. He felt his phone buzz in his hand, reading a text message as he pulled his jeans on with the other.

Arnold: almost there. you owe me

Simon's face crooked into a smile as he slid his phone into his pants pocket. He could hardly believe what he was doing, but he tried to ignore the self doubt and just let himself take the risk. Arnold, a dependable but more importantly nearby coworker, wasn't working today. After a little begging, however, the bat was able to change his mind - albeit only to cover part of his shift. Now dressed in runners, black jeans, and an orange t-shirt, Simon grabbed his things and headed to put them away. First, of course, he fixed his head-fur.

After tossing his clothes in a closet and greeting the dog, Simon slowed his pace as he entered the dining room. He looked to the corner. The human was still alone, and beginning to stand from his chair, a horrified look of embarrassment poorly hidden on his face. Simon approached him, finally feeling the weight of his impending actions as the human looked at him confusedly.

“I'm going to head out now. He isn't coming."

Suddenly, the source of Elliot's absent minded confusion became obvious. The bat wasn't wearing a suit anymore, and was now dressed far more casually.

“Yeah," The bat nervously replied, “About that."

Elliot was obviously thrown off by the situation.

“Can I help you get your night back?"

The human laughed in shy disbelief.

“Are you asking me out?" Elliot's voice was now gripped by seriousness, whispering to not make a scene.

“I am."

Too nervous to make eye contact, the blushing human replied.

“Sure."

As the two left the restaurant, Simon could see Sarah giggling and giving a thumbs up in the corner of his eye.

The two walked lazily through a field, lit only by the faint glow of streetlamps and a haze of early moonlight.

“So, do you pick up customers often?"

“Yeah," the bat chuckled, “usually about two a week."

The human's face contorted into a nauseated spiral, Simon's laughter quickly growing at the sight.

“Kidding!" He blurted out, “I'm just kidding. I've actually got a bit of a reputation for how frequently I don't ask people out."

“I can tell," the shorter man replied.

“Hey!"

Simon scratched his head nervously. As he did, his wing unfolded under his arm, catching the human's gaze before he quickly looked away.

“I'm kidding too," the human continued; “you're actually rather charming."

Blushing under his fur, the bat smiled. The human's neck craned skyward, following a misshapen tree as the two walked under it.

“So, I never actually got your name."

“Oh! Uh, I'm Elliot."

The name rung sweetly as it cascaded into the bat's large ears.

“I'm really sorry, but I kinda forgot yours."

Elliot stared at his feet with worry, hoping he wouldn't mind. He felt the bat's soft hand grab his, easing his thoughts.

“I'm Simon."

The conversation rotated as the night progressed. Simon's job, Elliot's, where they had grown up. All the while, the bat's soft digits intertwined with the human's, not once threatening to let go. Elliot felt as fuzzy inside as he imagined Simon's body was, growing closer and feeling his concerns and hesitation melt away, a shallow puddle from a place that felt less like home.

“So, this might be stupid, but can you fly?"

“Does falling slowly count as flying?"

“It's good enough for me," jested Elliot.

“While we're on the subject, are you good at climbing stuff?"

“Not at all. Point taken."

Simon squeezed Elliot's hand, pumping the night's ether through his veins and making him feel woozy. As Elliot fought the urge to collapse in the bat's arms, Simon checked the time on his phone.

“Damn," he whispered to himself. His cell returned to his pocket, Simon pivoted to stand face to face with the shorter human. As he took Elliot's free hand, he admired his lightly tanned skin, the way his golden brown hair was messy from being fiddled with, his perfectly goofy grin.

The bat's large ears drooped as Elliot looked up at him. His small fangs and puffy mane of neck fur contrasted the poignant look on his face.

“I have to go back to work. I could only get part of my shift covered before I asked you out."

Elliot leaned in, pressing his dry pink lips to the bat's thin black ones. After the kiss, he wrapped his arms around his body and smothered himself in the orangey black fur that encircled Simon's neck. He filled his lungs with the bat's gentle scent and pulled away.

“Now you can go."

Adrenaline coursed through Simon's veins, tantalized by Elliot's actions. Heart still aflutter, the bat began to speak.

“Can I have your number?"

His voice was miniscule, almost drowned by the sounds of night breeze and the quiet chatter of the bustling city nearby.

“Only if I can have yours."

Elliot: I had a really great time tonight.

Elliot: We should do this again.

Simon: we literally have to

Elliot: [bat emoji that SF won't save]

Elliot: :)