Golden Bullet - Entry 28!
Notes from 100-series: Uhh... this is actually my LAST entry. I completed the challenge. However, I could not post one of the fics due to (cough) mature content, and one of the art entries contained multiple images that I can't format here so what I will do is reorganize and add in some "author's choice" slots to build it up to 30 just for you readers. But for now, the challenge has been completed!

Description: After Xenosaga II sometime, this takes place.

Sticky Realians
30kisses Challenge #23: candy

It was a bright day on the Kukai Foundation when a tall blonde-haired cyborg made his way through the streets of people going about their daily lives. It wasn't an unusual sight on the foundation, and the ability to walk about without drawing undue amounts of attention was nice.

"Hi, Ziggy!" MOMO called out, and came running up. She looked to be in a particularly good mood. Her smile was even brighter than usual, he noticed, as she gave him a hug and squeezed his arm. "Where are we going today?"

"I thought you had the plan," he replied.

MOMO looked up at him shyly and rocked on her heels. "Well I don't know, I just wanted to see you today. I didn't think very far past that."

"I see," Ziggy said. "Then I will make a suggestion." He looked through an index of all of the stores nearby for one that MOMO might like to look at. "Would you like another stuffed animal?"

"You know I've got way too many of those already!" she giggled, "but if we happened to see a really cute one..."

"Hmmm, how about this then," he said, and found a restruant. "Have you eaten recently?"

"Uh-huh," MOMO said. "Just ate."

"Hmm, then lunch is out, but how about..." he began to look for a store that might serve ice cream or some other desert, but finding none, he chose the next best thing. A candy store. "Alright then, I've made a selection."

"Aha!" MOMO laughed. "I'll let it be a surprise!"

They walked down the street, talking back and forth about different things MOMO asked Ziggy about what it was like working with the Kukai Foundation now, and he asked her about life with her mother in return. They arrived at the shop and MOMO gasped in delight to find that it was brightly colored and decorated like a giant toy house.

"What is this?" she giggled, as they entered. "Oh, candy!"

There were rows and rows and stacks and stacks of different kinds of candy. The walls were lined in containers that created a rainbow of bright sparkling colors. Some of them even changed their color every few seconds or flashed, technological feats.

"Wow, I didn't know there were so many kinds," she said.

"I didn't either," Ziggy agreed.

"MOMO smiled and hummed. "I'll try a little each."

"Have as much as you want," he replied. "Try one of each."

"Okay!" MOMO laughed, and began to fill a bag with each kind. "Wow, this is surprisingly fun!"

A while later they emerged from the store, and MOMO had tasted well over fifty kinds of candy. She was hopping up and down as she walked and skipping around every few minutes giddily.

On the way back to the Durandal, they ran into Jr. who had come down to the Foundation to some business, and was now heading back. "Hey guys," he greeted them with a wave. "Having fun?"

"Jr.!" MOMO squealed, and ran for the short read-head. She jumped at him with all of her weight, having a full running start, and knocked him over completely. She kissed both his cheeks twice as he struggled to sit up, and grinned broadly, showing her teeth had been stained blue. "Hi!"

"Hi yourself," Jr. answered, reeling from the sudden burst of affection. With his face red in embarrassment and shock still written on it, he looked up at Ziggy for an explanation.

"I had the idea of introducing MOMO to various types of candy today," he explained.

"Ah," Jr. mumbled, "Well that would explain why I'm all sticky."

"Look Jr.!" MOMO said, still practically sitting on him. She dug into the bag of sweets that she was carrying. "These are sugar straws, and these are gummy bears, here's a peach ring, and oh! These crystalline sugar formations explode in your mouth when you eat them, it's so much fun!"

"Wow" Jr. said, marveling at the sheer level of excitement she was displaying. "Note to self. MOMO plus sugar equals one very energetic realian."

"I'm just happy today, that's all!" MOMO insisted with another blue-toothed smile. "Here, try one!" Then as Jr. opened his mouth to speak again, she shoved a bright pink sucker into it. He objected with a muffled grunt and continued to mumble something incoherent.

"Ha," Ziggy chuckled.

Jr. took the pop out of his mouth for a second as he stood up. "Did you just laugh?" he asked.

Ziggy shrugged, and a small but sure smile remained on his face. "I suppose I did."

Jr. turned to look at MOMO in amazement. "Well look at that," he said in wonderment, "You made Ziggy laugh!"

"Hee!" MOMO giggled and skipped over to hug Ziggy's waist. "That's great!"

Jr. scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he took another taste of the sucker. "Well I'm not sure this all is good for my physical well-being," he joked. "You can plow into Ziggy all you want, he's made of metal."

MOMO responded by sticking her tongue out. It was turning green now thanks to the technicolor dyes in the candy she had eaten. "Okay then, I will!"

"Hey," Jr. pouted. "That's not very nice."

That prompted Ziggy to laugh again, an action that had been foreign to him for near a century. "New battle equipment... MOMO's sugar rush."