Edited by: ASaltedFish
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On the day of Juniper's date with Edros, Juniper waited for him by the front door.
Edros needed to finish a call in his study and mentioned it wouldn't take too long. That was fine; they still had time.
First, they would eat lunch at the cold noodle restaurant, then they would go to the aquarium until their dinner reservation.
Juniper fidgeted with the storage ring that Edros gave him. He was thinking about how excited Edros was when he initiated a date. He looked so happy and surprised that he made sure to request time off from military affairs. Even when the military wanted to backtrack, he didn't back down.
Not only that, he was nervous that Edros would not like the gift he got. Edros had many crystals, so he wanted to get something special. But for a while, he couldn't find anything that caught his eye.
That was when he saw a few stone carvings and thought, Why couldn't he commission someone to carve Lune and Casir? That was when he saw one of his clients listed as a master stone carver!
He could provide a session in exchange for the carving with no further charges. It was a mutual exchange!
Everything had been working out for him so far; he couldn't help but feel nervous. Still, he was excited to see Edros' reaction to the carving and his confession.
"Juniper, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Edros said while walking up to Juniper.
Juniper looked up and saw Edros dressed in casual clothes, something he only wore during their dates. He wore a plain red shirt and black slacks. Juniper wore a similar outfit, but his shirt was a light purple.
"I didn't wait too long. Let's get going." Juniper knew that Edros was a busy man, so he didn't take it to heart.
"Alright, let's go…"
Juniper reached out his hand for Edros to hold it. As he went to therapy, he promised himself that he would take the initiative more often, and it started with his relationship with Edros.
In his past life, he had been alone for so long, so it was hard to undo 25 years of survival.
Edros gently took Juniper's hand and looked like he was savoring the moment. He didn't know what was going on with Juniper, but he was excited. Was it because of the conversation he had with Ellery the other day?
Since Juniper planned the date, they took Edros' personal hovercar. There was no need for any security with Edros by Juniper's side.
Juniper and Edros arrived at the cold noodle restaurant quickly. It was a small family-owned business, but they had a private room where they could sit and eat. As promised, there was no one else in the restaurant at the allotted lunch time.
The food was quickly put on the table by robots. The cold noodles were placed in front of them while many side dishes were laid out across the table. The side dishes complemented the cold noodles, letting the customer mix and match to find what they like best. If they wanted more of something, they could order it on the robot. The stuff they didn't like could be taken away.
The two of them tried everything on the table. Edros ended up liking everything, but Juniper only liked a little more than half. Everything he didn't like was given to Edros while they shared the rest.
The meal between the two of them was harmonious because they were used to eating in front of each other. Juniper didn't shy away from his eating habits, keeping everything separate and perfectly portioned. Edros was a bit more lax with the way he ate and made sure he took extras of some dishes so the food would even out for Juniper.
When they finished eating, Juniper took Edros to the largest aquarium on the Imperial Star. This aquarium housed many aquatic creatures from all over the galaxy. Not only that, it was used as a rehabilitation center because the weather on the Imperial Star was controlled to keep a milder climate. This made it easier for creatures to adapt and recuperate.
Edros helped Juniper out of the hovercar and found one staff member of the aquarium waiting for them. It was a tall sentinel woman with short curly black hair shaped into a perfectly round afro. She wore the aquarium uniform, which was a form-fitting blue blouse with the aquarium logo on it and black slacks.
"Hello, Marshal Caecius and Your Excellency Juniper, thank you for coming to visit the Imperial Aquarium. I will be your guide. You can call me Marcella."
Juniper nodded and opened up his terminal. "Hello, Marcella. Please thank everyone at the Imperial Aquarium for letting us book the aquarium today."
"It is our honor."
Edros was about to ask about the payment, but Juniper had paid in advance. "Don't worry about anything and just follow me." Once again, he took Edros' hand and walked behind Marcella, who began to explain the history of the Imperial Aquarium and the different environments they had to offer.
Edros did his best to pay attention to what Marcella was saying, but he couldn't help but look over at Juniper, who was holding his hand but nodding along to Marcella. He even asked questions from time to time, showing that he was paying attention and taking note of everything.
"This is our most popular area." Marcella opened a door to show small penguins swimming in the icy waters or sunbathing on icebergs and land covered in a thick layer of ice.
These penguins looked similar to the ones Juniper was familiar with, and they had similar names.
"Most of these penguins were rescued after an Inek invasion, while a few were born at our facility. We have a few species that have completely lost their home planet. We do our best to simulate their natural environment, ensuring that they do not go extinct.
"They are also friendly and curious about people, so if you want to go in and pet them, we can let you."
Juniper's eyes lit up while he gently tugged on Edros' sleeve. "Do you want to go?"
Seeing Juniper wanting to pet the penguins, Edros nodded. "Yes, let's go."
Marcella skilfully guided them into the large enclosure, telling them the rules of petting penguins. They also had to follow her because there were places they could not stand.
The penguins, curious to see new people, came over, looking them up and down with innocent eyes. Juniper let them size him up and smell him before gently petting the nearest penguin on the head. The penguin was a bit soft and smooth, making it comfortable to pet.
"They are cute…" Juniper whispered, but Edros heard him.
"Yes, I think so too." Though Edros thought Juniper was much cuter.
After spending almost an hour in the penguin enclosure, Juniper felt it was time to explore the other parts of the aquarium.
Marcella took them to see other areas like the dolphins and sharks. Though she offered to let them swim with the dolphins, Juniper didn't want to go swimming. He was a bit traumatized by the dolphins from his past life, so he felt it was best to stay on land.
Edros didn't really care about it, so when Juniper rejected, he did the same.
The last place they stopped by was the largest area of the aquarium. If one didn't know, it would feel like they were in a glass tube underwater, staring at the wildlife and coral in their natural habitat. They had thousands of species from many different planets, but they were able to coexist with one another. It was beautiful to see.
"Now that you are here, I will take my leave. You can stay in this area for as long as you want. If you want to leave, just stop a nearby employee, and they can escort you out."
"Thank you, Marcella." Juniper already sent a message to her supervisor to increase her pay. He was satisfied with the tour.
After that, Edros and Juniper were left to walk on their own.
Since they were alone, Juniper felt that he could find the perfect moment to confess to Edros here!