[M] Taking Monika to the Pier! (Green)

>You stop the car and switch it off. Opening the door and stepping out into the blinding sunlight.
>Your head turns to the passenger side, but nothing catches your eye.
>From the other side, a voice speaks in between deep breaths.
>”Thank god, I thought… we’d never get here.”
>You can only smile, admittedly it was a bit of a long drive. Must have set of Monika’s car sickness.
>Hell, it was already midday! That cuts down how much time the two of you have.
>The smell of sea salt and fish catches your attention.
>Monika stands upright as you walk around the front of the car to meet her.
>She gives you a weak smile.
>”Sorry, Anon.”
“It’s okay Monika.”
>You give her a quick kiss before taking her hand.
“Let’s go, we don’t have much time to waste.”
>She gives you an “Mm” of confirmation before the both of you take off towards the pier.

>The two of you stroll down the ramp connecting the car park and the pier.
>You pass under an arch connecting two buildings and finally reach the walkway.
>Right in front of you, the ocean spans are far as the eye can see, hugging the horizon.
>Faint landmasses can be seen in the distance.
>To your left is the market district, littered with shops and stalls of all sorts.
>Places ranging from fish merchants to souvenir stores line the walkway.
>Even a few cafes and coffee places with tables outside, patrons basking in the sun and enjoying their lunch.
>To your right is the fishing wharf. Boats of all shapes and sizes are parked along the few boardwalks that stretch out across the water.
>Most of the buildings stretching along the pier on this side are fishing related. There’s even a little stall that puts out fishing rods for hire.
>You point this out to your girlfriend.
>”Sure, maybe later once we’ve had some food.”
>Fair point. You’re a bit peckish yourself.

>The two of you take off along the left side, popping in and out of stores and taking in the place as much as you can.
>You find an arcade!
>Monika almost groans as you drag her in without a second thought.
>Her disdain doesn’t last long as you pull her to a DDR machine.
>You pop a coin in the machine, pick a dumb song and ready up as the arrows start coming.
>The two of you start playing and it’s soon apparent you’ve awakened some sort of beast.
>Monika is hitting perfects left right and centre. You can barely keep up since you’re almost mesmerized by her footwork.
>The round ends and the scores come up. A “C” appears on your end of the screen, you glance over at an overly smug Monika grinning at a large flashing “A+.”
>She turns to you, still grinning.
>”Sorry Anon. I guess I’m just too good!”
>She pulls your still stunned self towards her and kisses you deeply before pulling you off the board entirely.
>The two of you stop at a few more machines including a zombie shoot ‘em up, a racing game and finally the dreaded claw machines.
>”Look at that fox plush, Anon! It’s so cute!”
>She sounds like Sayori, you can’t help but chuckle as you reach into your pocket for your wallet.
>A few rounds in you’ve lost more quarters than you’d like to admit.
>You hear Monika sigh a little.
>”I guess we should move on.”
>Hearing her sad causes newfound determination to flow through you.
“No. One last try.”
>”You’ve said that like three times now.”
“I don’t give a damn, I’m not losing to a machine.”
>You almost slam another quarter into the machine and take the controls once more.
>You direct the claw so it’s hanging over that damned fox once more.
>It slowly falls towards the plush, as its fingers dig into the pile of fluff and fur, they close around the fox.
>The claw lifts out of the bed of toys, fox in hand. Your body tenses up and you feel Monika do the same, holding on to your arm for dear life.
>Slowly the claw makes its way back to the drop zone and opens its prongs.
>Dropping the fox straight through the hole.
>The two of you cheer! Hooting and hollering louder than all the other machines in the building combined.
>Monika grabs you, a huge grin splitting across her face.
>Eventually the two of you let go of each other and you reach down into the flap for the fox plush.
>It’s gone.
>It’s gone?
>It’s gone!
>You stand upright and look around, spotting a child in the distance holding a similar looking fox toy.
>Monika sighs a little.
>”Leave him be, he’ll get more out of it than either of us could.”
>You sigh as well, there goes all your hard work and money.
>A hand snakes its way into yours and tightens around you.
>”Besides, I have the only cuddle-buddy I’d ever need.”
>You guess it was worth it though, you got to see that beautiful smile after all.
>You turn and hug Monika again.
“Let’s get out of here.”
>”Agreed. These lights are starting to irritate my eyes.”

>The two of you leave the arcade, just as your stomach rumbles.
“Suppose we should eat?”
>”Alright then.”
>You find a small family-run chip shop and order some food.
>You walk out onto the pier again, food in hand. The paper is almost painfully warm.
>The smell of freshly caught and cooked fish alongside fresh made chips fills the air around you.
>Monika approaches the very edge of the pier and looks out across the ocean as she eats.
>For a split second the devilish idea to push her only to catch her after crosses your mind.
>You wave it off, you’re not strong enough to catch her so she’d just pull you into the water as well.
>Instead, you keep eating.
>Eventually you finish up and dispose of your papers.
>You bring up the idea of fishing again, to which Monika agrees.
>You take off towards the fishing side of the pier.
>The two of you hire a fishing rod and some bait. You doubt you’ll catch anything but why not?
>You sit down on an empty boardwalk and cast your line.
>Time passes.
>A lot of time…
>Monika rests her head on your shoulder and wraps an arm around your back.
>Finally a tug on your line.
>You almost fall off the boardwalk as you scramble to pull your catch from the waters below.
>You rip the hook from the water to find nothing. Looks like you lost your catch.
>You sigh, as you reach for another piece of bait you feel Monika plant a quick kiss on your cheek.
>As you turn back with bait in hand you return the gesture before placing it on the hook and casting your line again.
>It takes a while, but once again you feel that tugging sensation on your line.
>This time you pull a full bass from the water.
>Monika cheers as you hold its flapping body in your hands.
>She pulls her phone from her pocket and snaps a picture of you posing with it, a wide grin and a big thumbs up. How cheesy.
>You toss it back in and cast your line once more.
>The two of you fish for a short while before eventually giving up. You set the rod on the pier and wrap an arm around your girlfriend.

>You sit on the end of the boardwalk, feet dangling above the dark waters beneath you.
>Gazing along the horizon as the sun begins to set.
>The sky melts into a blazing orangey-red colour. Almost like a fiery liquid spreading along the horizon.
>”It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah…”
>You turn to Monika, she turns to you. Emerald eyes staring deep into your own.
>You flash her a somewhat cheesy grin.
“Not as beautiful as you though.”
>”Oh stop it! You’re terrible!”
>She bats a fist on your chest before kissing you again, stifling your laughter.
>Some more time passes, by now the sun has sunk almost entirely below the horizon.
>”Let’s go, I’m starting to get tired.”
>You’re quite tuckered out yourself, so you stand up and take off.
>The two of you return the fishing rod to the vendor just as he’s closing up.
>He glares at the two of you as you apologise for taking up his time. He simply waves you off however, letting it slide.
>You return to your car and get in, starting it up.
>As you click your seatbelt into place you feel another kiss fall on your cheek.
>”Today was fun, Anon. Thank you for this.”
“Don’t mention it, Moni.”
>You begin driving home. Before long Monika is asleep in the passenger seat.
>All in all, you had a good day, as did she.
>A smile spreads across your face.
>You're the luckiest guy in the world.