Shinichi still didn't let go of Danika, instead he scooted backward on the raised floor that he'd knelt on, to scoop her up and kiss her. He extended his leg backward until his foot rested on the entryway floor, so that he could brace himself, and then pulled his other leg free and stood up while lifting her.
"Show off," Danika muttered laughingly as he set her on her chair.
He just grinned at her and asked, "Have everything you need?"
She adjusted her position until she was comfortable, checked that her cards were in their pocket, and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready," she agreed.
--
They took the bus, and this time Shinichi hovered beside her in the little accommodation section at the front, instead of moving away to one of the standard seats. He hovered beside her when they made their way along the pavement to a gyro shop too.
Shinichi rearranged a table so that they could sit closer together, and Danika eyed him while they ate the flatbread sandwiches that were stuffed with lamb and creamy sauces.
"Am I being too clingy," he asked after he finished his.
"You are kind of hovering," she agreed hesitantly.
She still had half of her gyro left, but she thought maybe asking if he wanted part of it would be cruel. He could easily have ordered more. His lithe figure was drawing glances that Danika suspected were as much of appreciation as of recognition. She was suddenly glad that she hadn't skipped her exercises that morning.
He watched her take her next bite with such an attentive expression that she blushed, and offered anyway, "Did you want part of mine?"
Shinichi shook his head in negation. "And I'm sorry for hovering."
"It's alright, I mean, it's not like you're doing it because you think I can't do anything on my own," Danika replied quickly.
He rolled his eyes at her, and she grinned at him. "I don't know if we should spend more time cuddling at home where you don't mind me being plastered to you, or if we should spend more time around people so that you get tired of thinking things like that."
"What?" she asked blankly.
"Most people don't care, and the ones that do make an effort would probably just like it if someone made the same effort toward them," he replied dryly. "Personally, I'm hovering because I just want to be closer. If…" he hesitated suddenly.
Danika reached out and squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry. You're not wrong, and I'll try to let go of some of my assumptions." She tilted her head and suggested, "If I could walk we'd be walking hip to hip, like in the game?"
He ran a hand through his hair and then said stubbornly, "It doesn't matter."
Danika finished her gyro, and then grinned at him and suggested, "Want to push? So that we're moving together?"
Shinichi blinked at her. "Wouldn't that mess with the motors?" he questioned.
"I can put it in neutral. It would be silly to design it so that the user is completely stuck and helpless if the battery runs out," she explained.
"If you won't mind?" he replied hesitantly.
She giggled and told him honestly, "I think it'll be kind of pointless effort on your part, but if it helps you feel more connected, I don't mind."
"Let's try it," he agreed hopefully.
--
Danika tilted her head back so that she could look at Shinichi, and he grinned and leaned forward so that they were face to face, although upside down.
"Having fun?" she asked laughingly.
He bent farther and dropped a kiss on her nose. "Yes," he agreed happily.
"You're silly," she accused.
"Ruining my image?" he questioned with amusement.
"Probably all of them," she agreed.
He stood up again, so she straightened and looked forward as he rolled her toward the theatre. "All of them?" he asked.
"Famous pop star, secretive song writer, deadly assassin," Danika listed.
"Secretive?" he repeated laughingly. Then he leaned close and informed her, "But right now, I'm just your boyfriend, so it's okay."
"Yeah," she agreed. "We can be silly sometimes."
Shinichi slowed in front of the automatic doors, and asked suddenly, "How do you even get a pull door open from your chair?"
He pushed her through and paused at the kiosk to check them in for the movie, while Danika replied, "Awkwardly. But it's much easier with a modern powered chair than the old fashioned purely manual ones. I have 'doorway' functions programmed to move the chair through the necessary maneuver while leaving my hands free to manipulate the door." She added without thinking, "I need to program a function for getting off of your bed."
Shinichi actually blushed as the woman ahead of them turned to look at Danika and raised her eyebrows. He cleared his throat, but instead of trying to change the subject, he suggested, "Or we could just redesign things so that the room works for both of us?"
She almost commented on his persistence, but she'd been the one to bring it up, so she just shrugged. "Eventually," she agreed.
Shinichi grinned at her, and moved behind her again, and they moved forward. When they were seated together in front of the advertisements that ran before the movie, he leaned over and whispered, "Thanks."
Danika turned and looked at him questioningly, but he didn't answer, he just leaned closer and kissed her for a moment.
--
Danika thought that the movie was rather silly, but Shinichi's murmured criticisms in her ear and their entwined fingers made it more fun than any movie she'd seen in years.
They waited until most people had left before making their way out, but she didn't feel impatient. When she suddenly held her hands out to him, Shinichi slid his into place on hers without asking. "I love being able to really touch you again too," she admitted.
He withdrew one hand and moved it to her cheek. "I know," he agreed.
"Get a room," complained one of the last stragglers from the audience as he passed.
When Shinichi grinned brightly, she knew what he was going to say, and she was already rolling her eyes at the suggestion when he asked laughingly, "Want to?"