She could never believe that the two of them would sit in the same table again. Not after the hurt she saw in his face when he found out, and his harsh but fair words: "And you are a crook!" It still echoed in her ears after all those days.

But now she shouldn't focus on that. He had given her another chance. That must have meant that she actually meant something to him.

His voice was trembling through the phone, and now that she was seeing him in real life he didn't look less tensed.

In the beginning of their date, it was so silent and awkward. Even more than their first time.

The food was exquisite, thank God, but that was not why they were there.

"I'm surprised you didn't delete me from your contacts" she broke the silence, but did not raise her head up from her plate to look him in the eye.

"I actually did" he admitted in a low voice. "And I regretted it the very next instant. So I had to call you from memory. There were a few failed attempts... Turns out Miss Duckson and her twelve cats were not interested in a date with me".

She giggled with a mouthful of spaghetti.

"Her loss" she murmured.

Fenton took a deep breath.

"I was thinking hard about whether I should call again after what happened in our last... meeting" he stuttered, as if saying the word 'date' was an impossible task.

"So... what made you come to this decision?" she dared ask, feeling a lot less confident than how much she appeared to be.

"I guess I thought we could pretend that none of the bad stuff happened, that we could pick it up from the dinner before Beaks and Gizmoduck and everything else. When there was just me and you. But, to be honest, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that because of what happened, you know when you changed sides and helped me... Well, because of that I like you even more".

Gandra Dee was certainly not one to blush, and she didn't. But her heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

And then Fenton realized exactly what kind of words came through his mouth and a sudden look of embarrassment appeared in his face.

"I... I don't mean... You know, it doesn't have to be like in a romantic way! Not that it didn't sound so! But what I'm trying to say is... You can take it that way if you want, but it can also be interpreted differently and... and... I don't want to pressure you or..."

"I like you too, Suit" she stopped his panicked stammering and disarmed him completely with her calm and sincere voice.

"Um... thank you!" he replied while awkwardly scratching his head, obviously flattered.

Gandra found his reaction very sweet and, without noticing it, the ends of her lips were forming a smile.

"What I was trying to explain" Fenton continued, still a bit shy, "is that we started with a few complications and mishappens. But at the end of the day, we made it through, and all of the problems that we faced are what led us here. They are part of our history and we need to accept them, not just pretend they didn't happen".

"So... what you're saying is... you forgive me?" Gandra gathered the courage to ask the one question that had been bugging her all evening.

"I'm saying that I'd like to... hang out with you and get to know you more. And you have something... I don't know how you do it, but I can't stay mad at you".

She rested her head on her hands and leaned closer to him.

"Also, I'm really glad and relieved that you know about Gizmoduck" he confessed with a deep exhale. "Not that I want you to like me just because I'm Gizmoduck, and I know very well that that's not why you are here tonight, but nonetheless Gizmoduck is a huge part of my life. It's part of who I am. And I couldn't keep such a big secret from you for long. I want to be clear, to show you my true self. Not hiding a secret identity".

Gandra felt a pain in her stomach. She had already betrayed him once, and now he was standing there ready to accept her again, being his true self, and she was still keeping things from him. She had to. If he knew about her secret and her association with F.O.W.L., he would have never asked her out. As much as she hated pretending, that was her only choice. Being her true self around Fenton was a dream out of her grasp.

"Gandra, are you okay?" his worried words interrupted her guilty thoughts.

"Ever the caring one" she smirked after recovering from an in-depth contemplation. "You were saying?"

"Oh, nothing really, I'm just happy that now your secret mission is out of the way and I can see the real you. And I'm really glad that you want to date Fenton and not Gizmoduck".

That was the truth indeed! F.O.W.L. may have chosen her to keep a close eye on Duckburg's vigilante hero, but that didn't change the fact that she absolutely died to hear a call from her sweet Suit again!

Maybe she should just tell him. She wanted him to know, she wanted to trust him, to come clear about herself, exactly like he was, sitting right across her as an open book. She couldn't betray him again, he deserved to know the truth, now from the beginning!

But... He would never understand. He just wouldn't get it. Some people are raised in a caring family, and while Fenton only had his mother, he was loved and provided for. Gandra certainly didn't have that. She had to provide for herself, and that sometimes meant that she would do things she didn't want to. Some people are chosen for greatness, like protecting the city. But Gandra was not given such an option. No one had ever asked her to wear the Gizmoduck armour and accept the city's admiration. Instead, F.O.W.L. asked her to do other things, much less noble. But how could she refuse, what other choice she had? Fenton would never get that. They may have had common interests and shared a passion for chemistry and robotics, but they came from totally different words.

If only she could leave F.O.W.L., but she didn't have that option.

"I mean, it's a date, right?" Fenton hesitantly asked after a long silence. "I thought I made that quite clear when I called you, but still if you don't think-"

"Yes, Fenton, it's a date" she chuckled. "Let's admit that, we don't have to question it every time".

"Yeah, sure! I'm just making sure you are alright with this, so next time we can... Wait, was it wrong of me to assume that there will be a next time? It doesn't have to be! Not that I would mind it. Who am I kidding, I would love it! But of course you'll have to agree first, and I'm certainly not implying that I'm taking that for granted or that I want to force you to d-date me a second time. Well, a third actually. Fourth, if you also count the King Kong incident. Anyways, all I'm saying is that we should act cool about it" he leaned back against his chair, bringing his arms behind his neck while accidentally hitting his glass and spilling his wine on the table.

Gandra couldn't help but laugh at how cute he looked while he was anxiously apologizing and cleaning the table with his napkin.

He wasn't looking at her at the moment, but if he was he would see her eyes beaming with adoration. She wouldn't lose that for the word. She couldn't reveal a secret that would push him away from her. Maybe for the first time in her life she found someone that she could really connect with, and she wasn't going to give up on it. She would protect it at all costs, even if it meant she had to keep her secrets.

But what if he ever found out? Well, if that time ever came, she only thought that maybe by then he would have liked her enough to look past it.

"So of course the world should care more about trimethyl-hydrocyclohexanine impurities in the oil!" Fenton exclaimed on their way back.

They were walking in a close distance, however their hands were not intertwined, though they accidentally touched occasionally.

The summer night breeze was intense and Fenton had asked her if she wanted his jacket. She only thanked him and claimed she was hot enough, yet she couldn't resist imagining if she would look good wearing it, and a not-so-small part of her actually craved for feeling his warmth around her shoulders and smelling his scent.

"Instead, we should focus on using that to our advantage, despite the many bad outcomes from the accumulation. I'm actually working on a project with Gyro to prove that trimethyl-hydrocyclohexanine can be used as a great dissolvent for nitrogen and sulfidic derivatives, of course after a few modifications in its acylic chain".

Gandra loved watching him being such a nerd. Unlike the awkward start of their date, he was now relaxed, he was feeling comfortable to speak freely about what was on his mind. If only she could say the same for herself!

Instead of enjoying their time together, she couldn't keep her mind off of her guilt. She was trying really hard to push everything that had to do with F.O.W.L. away, but she just couldn't.

She didn't want their dates to be like that! Maybe she should just tell him. It would be difficult at first, but in the end they could make it if they tried.

"Dr. Gearloose thinks it will be a disaster, but we only need a small extra funding and our research could lead to something great!" Fenton shouted enthusiastically. "You know, you should come over at our lab and take a look at it. I'm sure Dr. Gearloose won't mind. Sure, you may have electrocuted him, but as soon as he really gets to know you he'll like you, no doubt!"

Gandra's mind was elsewhere. She didn't seem to listen to him.

"Em… Gandra? Gandra, are you okay?" he asked almost worried.

At the sound of her name, she came back to the reality. How long have they been walking? They had already arrived at her doorstep. No, this couldn't be over just yet! She had to tell him. It was now or never!

"Fenton" she called him and he turned to face her with a somewhat surprised look. She realized that this was the first time she ever called him by his name, and not Suit, Gizmo-idiot or other nicknames she had found for him. He seemed confused at first, but the brightness in his eyes gave away that he actually liked it. She made a mental note to call him by his first name more often, or at least to make a nickname out of it, like "Fenty" or "Fen". Maybe "Tonnie" too.

"Yes, Gandra?" he asked with a soft voice.

She knew what she had to say. And yet…

His beautiful eyes kept staring at hers with a loving look. She couldn't lose that. Not just yet, anyway.

She leaned in and left a hasty kiss on his left cheek.

"Call me soon" she whispered and left running towards her house.