Tabitha sat alone in his room within the Team Magma Hideout, curled over a desk fringed at the edges with messes of papers. The only light came from the illuminated laptop to his left, just enough to highlight the solitary paper laid out in front of him. He reread the emboldened title at the top of the form: "Application for Admin Promotion," and his neat scrawl in the blank below: "Tabitha."

The form was all too familiar to him. Beyond the fact that he, as the overseer of Team Magma's paperwork, was the one to create all Team Magma application forms, he had pored over a form much like it when he applied to Devon Corporation years ago. Just like it, in fact, as he had fashioned this one from the old one he had all but memorized. The stakes were arguably higher back then, for a prestigious position within a prestigious workplace demands perfection.

But this was not a prestigious workplace. This was of a different matter entirely. The time and effort put into this application were no longer for a passion of a job or wealth. Perhaps at one time it was all for the desire of power or even the pettiest of bragging rights. But still no longer. As he sat in the dark of the late night, Tabitha began to consider his true motives for the application.

It perplexed him. He was devoted to Maxie. The Great Maxie, who Tabitha truly believed to be great. Tabitha had not once questioned Maxie's leadership. The man's devotion to his cause and knowledge of the issues were most admirable. Why would he, Tabitha, ever do anything to hinder him?

Him. Her eyes looked only to… him.

Her eyes…

…Beautiful, brilliant lavender, soft in the coldest of ways, yet bright, drawing all attention as it deserves, but does not seem to care for… To even want…

"…Hyuhn?" Tabitha started, waking from the gentle sleep that had begun to creep up on him and plague his mind with such disgustingly sweet thoughts. As his bleary eyes read the rather late time displayed on his laptop, Tabitha noticed that his right palm had become the platform for his chin, and his face was looking not in the direction of the paper, but at a dark corner of his room. He groaned in annoyance and ran his hand through his unnaturally ruffled hair. At what point had he become so lost in thought that he assumed such a wistful gesture?

Opening his eyes ever so slightly, Tabitha intentionally glared away from his application, defiantly showing it just who's boss. He huffed, concentrating especially on suppressing the pink welling up upon his cheeks. But he was frustratingly aware that he couldn't deny himself. He knew good and wellwhy he was putting so much care and effort into the damn thing, so much so that it rivaled even his original Devon application. Still, that didn't mean he had to accept it.

Really. HE, Team Magma Admin Tabitha, jealous? Of Maxie? For anything other than his position? Over… Over feelings? Ridiculous. Appalling. The most absurd of notions.

He was wasting his time. His bed was calling to him, as was his secret stuffed companion that he kept stashed away. Stretching, Tabitha rose from his seat and ambled around his desk in the direction of the bed. As he passed the wretched application, he absentmindedly pushed some other papers on top of it. Best to consider it when I'm in the right state of mind, he concluded, smiling sleepily to himself at his good judgment.

…But as Tabitha snuggled up in his bed, clutching the Skitty doll close to his chest, it was the lavender that came to him again. It was what permeated his thoughts as he drifted off to sleep and what he dreamed of for the remainder of the night. It was what gave him the faintest taint of blush upon his face and the smallest traces of a smile in sleep. And deep inside, Tabitha knew what he was feeling, and he embraced it.

Courtney was his reason. And though Tabitha would forever deny, even to himself, he knew, and he accepted. To have her notice him, to gift him with the loveliest lavender he had ever laid eyes on, would be worth all.