You try to ask Chara, your coworker, out on a date.

>Dusk is breaking down, the sunset is settling itself in between the golden clouds and directly into your skin.
>Yes, it’s a warm late afternoon, the heat is getting you all bothered in your suit. Perhaps, it might also be the thoughts you’ve been having these past few days.
>After a few months of working here, the realization struck that you might not be able to take it anymore, hiding it from him. It wouldn’t be fair to you, it wouldn’t be nice to him.
>Ever since week one you’ve felt a tad infatuated with your coworker, his gaze entrances you like no other, you could stare at those piercing scarlet eyes forever, hearing him talk in that sweet, yet roughy voice… It’s a fantasy… You’ve tried brushing it off before, yet the butterflies in your stomach are still impossible to contain.
>Of course, you think you’re doing a pretty good job at covering it up, you talk with Chara every day about pretty much anything, trying your hardest to keep your cool near him, it’s hard to imagine how sad you’d be if your good friendship with him ended because you acted like a creep.
>Moving on still seems to be futile, you can’t help but anxiously work around in your head any sign he might ever give to how he truly feels about you.
>One afternoon he said you were cute, and you’ve been piecing together what he meant by it ever since, was he flirting? Was it a platonic compliment? You haven’t figured it out.
>Some days ago Chara called you “sweetie”, you were quite thrown off by it, and he promptly noticed, apologizing, you needed to make sure he wouldn’t stop it, so you just laughed it off and said you were fine with most petnames.
>He gazed down on you (he’s almost a head taller than you, crazy!) and just gave you a chuckle with half-closed eyes and a gentle smile. Depending on who you ask, not many would classify it as a lewd expression, but you can’t get the thought out of your head!
>“Lost in thought?” You whimper as you turn your head around in shock, you see Chara staring you down with a straight face, not wearing his usual ear-to-ear smile. Your heart races just a little bit, calming down when you just tell him it’s nothing.
>“Sure.” He turns around to close down the door behind him. “Why are you here outside of the building? Are you waiting for someone, if you don’t mind me asking?” Quivering just a tiny bit, you’re able to maintain a calm expression and just say you wanted to give him a goodbye today.
>“Aww, that’s so sweet of you!” He puts his big hands on top of your left shoulder, tapping it a bit, you feel a bit stiff, unable to really respond, verbally or otherwise. You had a crush on him already, but you never felt this overwhelmed by it until now for some reason.
>“Well, please take care. See you on Monday, alright?” After giving you one more smile, he turns around and waves his hand. “Bye, anon!”
>You raise up your hand to return the farewell, but by then Chara is already on his way, walking along the sidewalk.
>Another chance wasted, you’re never gonna be with Chara like this, perhaps it is necessary to step down on the wishful thinking, you have no way of knowing if he feels the same way, and if he doesn’t, you might not be able to handle such a tremendous heartbreak.
>But, you might go crazy tonight if you don’t get this closure.
>You look back at him, he’s walking very slowly, with his head up, he also seems to be lost in thought about something. It’s now or never. You ease your mind up, prepare for disappointment!
>You yell out for Chara, he perks his shoulders up in surprise, turning around, just a tad confused. “Is everything okay, anon?”
>With your head a bit low, fingers fidgeting all around, you walk up to him in an ungainly step. He’s just gazing at you curiously, ready for what you have to say.
>It’s getting hard to feel the space around you, your limbs are quite light now and your own voice fails you. But through a stutter or two, you’re finally able to ask him if he’d like to go somewhere to eat tomorrow.
>“Oh, that’s it? Of course.” Seemingly without putting much thought into your body language, Chara just accepts the offer quickly with a grin. “I know you don’t think so, but speaking with you is always such a pleasure…”
>You sigh, looking up at him and giving back the happy face, he gazes deeply at you, something appears to have crossed his mind.
>“Wait, do you mean it… As in… As in a date?”
>The lull feelings didn’t last long, the simple phrase made you shiver for just a minute, control fades away for a few seconds as you avert your eyes from his piercing crimson stare, you can already feel the blood running to your cheeks, turning your face red. You can’t believe you’re doing this, how is it even possible? Is this real?
>Somewhat embarrassed, you murmur a soft confirmation to him after finding the strength to speak. When you close your eyes due to the overwhelming feelings of being so flustered, you can’t see how taken aback Chara is by your confirmation, he looks at you for a bit and… Just giggles.
>“That’s…” He looks at you with a big smirk, his face is as rosy as ever. “That’s adorable, anon!” Hearing that, your heart weighs your body down for just a second, maybe he really doesn’t share the same emotions, wouldn’t those be the words of someone trying to ease someone up before a rejection?
>I told you not to get your hopes up.
>You slowly raise your head up to look at him. “It would… Yeah…” Chara is the one looking away now, to the road, dazed by the speed and crushing sounds of heavy traffic. You’ve never seen him stutter before, he’s so precise with his words, maybe what you said really affected him.
>“It would be…” He looks back at your glistening eyes, which are in preparation to hold back some tears.
>“It would be lovely.”
>Chest fluttering, you feel light again, you can’t help but smile clumsily back at his response. Letting out a few giggles, Chara lets out some too. “I would love that, actually!” You find yourself staring at his eyes for a few seconds before turning your head, thanking him and saying you two can meet tomorrow at lunch.
>“Yes.” His voice sounds a little more lively now, he can be a bit grim some days, but now he looks so chipper. “If you'd enjoy, we can eat at the bakery I was talking to you about.” Still just mumbling, you tell him that the bakery would be great.
>“Haha, yes… That is…” His voice sounds exceptionally high now, he puts his fist in front of his mouth and clears his throat, making his voice a little calmer again. “That is splendid.”
>A few giggles still escape from you, with a wide smile, fidgeting with your hands. You tell him you’re glad he accepted your offer, he laughs quietly. “Oh, please! I really could not refuse.”
>Chara steps down, leaning on his right knee, now he does look just a bit shorter than you. “A date with you? I could never refuse it!” He takes your left hand and holds it tenderly. “Really.”
>At this point, you already feel like you’re melting. Opening up a big open mouth smile, you’d be very embarrassed if you could get a hold of how you’re acting now, it’s hard to notice too, but Chara looks to be merry in a way you’ve never seen him before. You can only tell him that you’re very glad.
>“Wait!” He lets go of your hand and looks back, before staring down at you again. “Are you… Are you busy today?”
>Your cheeks go red again, as you nervously tell him that no. "Let's go then! Right now!” He raises up both of his hands in fists, excitedly, his smile is so big now, you feel airy just thinking about how excited he looks, though are still shocked when you actually put his words together, questioning him about it.
>Chara takes both of your hands quickly. “...Please? It’ll be fun! I know you’re always hungry after your shift!” Between giggles, you tensely say that your suit is all dirty, and your hair is a mess. “Oh, come on! Who cares about that? I’m way sloppier anyway!” He leans his face just a bit closer to yours, still holding your hands. “Let’s go, you won’t regret it.”
>You still can’t stop smirking. You feel a small urge to just kiss him right now, but you’ve gone so far, you need to play the long game to win it. That’s what he would tell you. Incapable to say much, you just nod your head.
>“Then let’s move on!” Before you can react, Chara turns around and starts walking fast along the sidewalk, still holding your left hand with his right, you feel a bit flustered from some of the crowd staring at the both of you. But you feel so happy… So, so happy right now… You can give it in, just a moment with him. It will be nice, he’s right.